


Tomorrow's Problems

by Imaginative_Spirit



Series: 52 Days-verse [2]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Especially Cloud, Established Relationship, Everyone Needs A Hug, I didn't know how to stop so I wrote an entire extra fic send help, M/M, Minor Zack Fair/Aerith Gainsborough, Sequel, This is honestly even more all over the place than the first one so buckle up, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:15:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 38
Words: 90,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21805759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imaginative_Spirit/pseuds/Imaginative_Spirit
Summary: Cloud may have managed to save Sephiroth and stop Nibelheim from burning, but things don’t end there. Tomorrow comes quicker than he would like, and with it, a whole new set of problems.Aerith goes missing, Zack sets out to find her, Sephiroth struggles to come to terms with who he is… and Cloud? Well, he still has to take down Shinra, save the world, and... who sent him back in time, again?
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sephiroth/Cloud Strife
Series: 52 Days-verse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1564390
Comments: 550
Kudos: 659





	1. Cloud

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go again! I couldn't stop and wrote another fic to continue where the last one left off! It's not completely finished like 52 Days was when I started posting, but I'm confident that I'll be able to catch up in no time!
> 
> Again, some things before we start:  
> 1\. Since this is a sequel, go read 52 Days first if you haven't already, or you'll be confused ;)  
> 2\. I'm thinking updates will continue to be twice a week for this one... I considered updating even more often to get the whole fic out before the remake releases but I don't want to be too hasty, so that's probably not happening  
> 3\. Unlike 52 Days, which I planned out in detail before I started writing, I kinda just wrote a lot of this without doing research, so if something doesn't make sense, that's probably why. Hopefully it's still enjoyable anyway, even though it's a bit different from the previous one, lmao

For a moment, when Cloud woke up, he wasn’t entirely sure where he was. It only took one brief glance to the side for him to recall. Sephiroth was fast asleep, curled up against Cloud’s side, looking incredibly comfortable and probably more relaxed than Cloud had ever seen him before. Jeez, they’d been through some intense shit over these last few days…

All right. What now? Cloud tangled his fingers into Sephiroth’s hair and tried to think, unable to hide a smile when Sephiroth made a content sound and shuffled closer. There were so many things to do… He should probably make a list or something. Yeah. A list seemed like a good idea. One: overthrow Shinra. Two: kill Hojo. Three: get rid of all the Mako reactors. Four…

“…Cloud?”

…Four: make out with Sephiroth a lot more. As Sephiroth stirred, Cloud pulled him in for a kiss and got only a surprised yet content noise as a response.

“Hey. Feeling any better?” he asked, pulling away slightly to get a good look at Sephiroth.

“Mm…” Sephiroth’s lips curled into a smile. “Much better. Still tired, though…” He did look exhausted, but at least he didn’t look unhappy. Cloud combed his fingers through Sephiroth’s hair and leant in to kiss him again, relieved that they were finally doing okay.

Still, it was hard to feel completely relaxed, knowing how easily it could all still go wrong. The Aerith from his future had been able to send him back once, but what if he messed up again? Actually, what about Aerith herself? Would she still be trapped in the Lifestream, all alone? That sounded like a nightmare. Was there absolutely nothing he could do to help her?

“How are _you_ feeling, Cloud?” Sephiroth asked, sounding vaguely concerned.

“Huh? Me? I’m fine.” No need to worry Sephiroth. Cloud wasn’t going to let him get involved, especially not now, when he needed to recover. He pressed a kiss to Sephiroth’s jawline to assure him, but Sephiroth didn’t seem convinced.

“I’m not going to go running back to Shinra, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Shinra’s not gonna be pleased about that… You think they’ll come after you?” Cloud wondered how Shinra might retaliate. Was Nibelheim safe? He didn’t want anyone he cared about to get caught in the crossfire…

“Maybe. There’s not much they could possibly throw at me, though. After all, there’s only  
one of me.” Sephiroth had the nerve to sound smug about that…

“Hey, don’t get cocky”, Cloud retorted. “If I was Mako-enhanced, I could kick your ass any day of the week!”

“Who’s the one being cocky now?” Sephiroth laughed and ruffled Cloud’s hair, clearly not taking him seriously. “I’ll be looking forward to the day I can get my ass kicked by you, then.”

Cloud didn’t reply. He simply shifted closer to Sephiroth, wrapped his arms around his waist and pressed his head against his chest, well aware that he would probably never be able to reach that point in this timeline. He wouldn’t be able to join SOLDIER – not that he particularly wanted to, that childhood dream was long gone – and he had no intentions of throwing himself into Hojo’s arms to let himself be experimented upon again.

Neither of them moved or spoke for a while after that. Then, Cloud was suddenly struck by two realisations: that he was very hungry, and that nobody knew that he and Sephiroth had been in the Shinra mansion for however much time had passed.

“We should probably head back to my place.”

“Good idea… We’ve been gone for a while.” Sephiroth sat up, wrapping himself up in the same sheet he’d been using to cover himself earlier. He turned to look over his shoulder and frowned. “The wing is gone. I’m not sure what makes it appear and disappear…”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually”, Cloud said as he grabbed his own clothes and started getting dressed. The Sephiroth from Cloud’s future had seemed to be able to control it, after all, revealing his wing in the heat of battle like the drama queen he’d been…

“Hopefully it won’t give me a lot of trouble…” Sephiroth sighed as he stood up, wobbling a bit. Cloud darted to his feet and grabbed Sephiroth to keep him steady, earning a frustrated look in response. “I can walk on my own, you know… You don’t need to be so gentle with me.”

“I want to be, though”, Cloud said. “I think you deserve a bit of pampering after everything that happened.” Sephiroth’s expression softened at that; Cloud finally managed to get a smile out of him.

“You’re too kind”, Sephiroth murmured and tilted his head down to nuzzle Cloud’s hair. “Maybe I should just make you carry me all the way back…”

“Oh, trust me, I would if you weren’t such a giant!”

“I’m not, you’re just tiny…”

It was easier than expected to drag Sephiroth back home. He was mostly able to walk by himself, so Cloud only had to support him a little bit when he occasionally stumbled. They managed to reach Cloud’s house without too much trouble, but just as Cloud was about to open the front door, it flew open and Zack spurted outside, nearly knocking them both off their feet.

“There you are! We were worried about you! Where were you…?” His eyes darted from Sephiroth to Cloud and then back again as he let out a gasp. “Sephiroth! You’re feeling better!” He marched right up to Sephiroth and threw his arms around him, giving him no chance to escape. Cloud watched in amusement as Sephiroth squirmed but remained firmly trapped in Zack’s tight embrace.

“I am… Sorry if I made you worry.” Sephiroth’s expression grew concerned. “And for… all the trouble I caused too, of course.”

“Hey, it’s fine! I’m just glad you’re okay…” Zack kept squeezing Sephiroth, and Cloud could see that Sephiroth was slowly starting to lean more and more against him. Sephiroth didn’t say anything, but Cloud got the feeling he was getting tired.

“Zack, I think Sephiroth needs to lie down”, Cloud said.

“Oh!” Zack let go of Sephiroth, clearly a lot more suddenly than Sephiroth had expected, because he nearly lost his balance and Zack ended up having to grab him again anyway. “Shit, you sure everything’s fine?”

“I just need rest… It’s all right.” Sephiroth moved past Zack, into the house, and Cloud quickly followed along.

“You’re back!” Claudia, of course, was all over Sephiroth instantly. “Oh, sweetheart… I’m so glad you’re feeling better, we were all so worried…” Before Sephiroth could say anything, she was already dragging him up the stairs towards Cloud’s room. “C’mon, let’s get you back into bed…”

“Your mom’s awesome”, Zack stated as they vanished out of sight. “She doesn’t seem to care at all that he’s, you know… _Sephiroth_.” He let out a laugh. “I’ve been here all morning and the only thing she’s been talking about is how happy she is for you and that she hopes Sephiroth’s gonna feel better soon…”

“Did you… tell her anything?” Cloud asked as he began digging around the kitchen cabinets in his desperate search for food, somehow only managing to find a single raw potato. Fuck it, it’d have to do.

“What was I supposed to tell her?” Zack shrugged and shook his head. “I don’t even know what’s going on either!”

“I mean… good point…” Cloud took a look around the room – while taking a bite and wondering just how old this potato was, because it certainly tasted like it had been there for a while – and realised that there was nobody else in sight. “Where did everyone else go?”

“I sent them to check out the reactor, in case that was where you’d gone…” Zack let out a laugh. “…Okay, more like Vincent decided to go up there himself, and I sent Dick and Cher with him. And then Tifa invited herself along too.”

“Weren’t Dick and Cher scared shitless of Vincent?”

“I mean yeah, but he seems like a pretty cool dude once you get to know him, so I figured it was fine.” Zack didn’t seem too concerned as he hauled out his phone and started typing out a text. “I’ll just let ‘em know that you guys turned up…”

“What are you gonna do now?” Cloud asked. “You said you were gonna head back to Midgar…”

“Mm… I get the feeling Shinra’s not exactly gonna want me back after that stunt we pulled”, Zack said, his carefree expression shifting into a frown. “I need to talk to Aerith in person… so I can figure out what to do next.”

“Did you talk to her over the phone about it?”

“Nah… Who knows, these phones could be bugged or something…” Zack said, glaring down at his phone before tucking it away. Cloud wasn’t about to question that Zack had used that very phone for certain questionable activities just a few nights before. “What about you? Did you decide what to do yet?”

“No. Not yet…” Cloud sighed.

A part of him wanted to go back to Midgar with Zack, maybe start working on taking down Shinra somehow… but Sephiroth had to rest and recover, and Cloud found himself reluctant to leave him behind. But he didn’t want to get Sephiroth involved either… After all this time, his life had clearly just forgotten what the word ‘simple’ meant.


	2. Sephiroth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, so many kudos on just the 1st chapter! Seems you were all really looking forward to more! I appreciate it, thank you for sticking with me and hopefully you'll continue to enjoy reading <3

Everything was spinning, and Sephiroth wasn’t sure how to make it stop. As soon as his head connected with the pillow, he was determined to never move again, just to lie here and stare at the ceiling for the rest of eternity. Something meowed and rubbed against his side, and he tilted his head slightly to find the source.

“Hello, Goblin”, he murmured, earning another meow in response as the cat climbed onto his chest and made herself comfortable.

“Tifa said that if Goblin ever has kittens, you can have one, if you’d like”, Claudia said and sat down in the armchair that had been placed next to the bed at some point. “That cat doesn’t usually like strangers at all… It’s pretty impressive, really.”

Sephiroth didn’t really know what to say, so he just hummed in agreement and ran his fingers through Goblin’s soft fur. He wasn’t sure what to make of Cloud’s mother. She seemed to take everything in stride and had accepted him so willingly… A part of his brain kept insisting that there had to be a catch; there was no way she could approve of Cloud being with someone like him…

“Something wrong? There’s no need to be nervous, sweetheart.” How had she known?

“I’m fine”, Sephiroth said, perhaps a bit too quickly. Claudia sighed and shook her head, yet still offered him a smile.

“Cloud made it sound like you haven’t had it easy… It’s not really what I’d expected from someone so, well… famous and celebrated. But I suppose it makes sense… From what I understood, the people at Shinra raised you, right?”

“Yes”, Sephiroth replied, suddenly finding himself unable to look her in the eye. How much had Cloud told her? On second thought, how much did Cloud even know?

“Did you choose your line of work, Sephiroth?”

“What is this? An interrogation?” Sephiroth questioned, sounding a bit harsher than he’d intended. Claudia didn’t reply, and Sephiroth still didn’t want to look her way, so he settled for staring up at the ceiling. “…I didn’t”, he admitted. “Shinra never gave me a choice… about anything, really.”

“I think you’re very brave for choosing to leave”, Claudia said. “Cloud knows how to pick ‘em.”

Sephiroth turned to look at her, not certain what to make of those words. He’d done plenty of things that most ordinary people would probably define as brave, yet this was what she chose to focus on? She smiled back at him, not seeming bothered in the slightest.

“You really… think it’s all right that Cloud and I are together, then?”

“Oh sweetheart… Why wouldn’t I?” She tilted her head as she watched him, looking genuinely curious. Sephiroth wasn’t sure how to respond, because there were so many reasons his and Cloud’s relationship could be considered a total disaster that he didn’t even know where to start.

“…Because I’m…” His throat felt so tight, all of a sudden, and he didn’t know what to tell her. She shifted closer, shushing him as she reached out to touch his hair. Automatically, Sephiroth flinched, squeezing his eyes shut. Goblin meowed in dismay and he felt her move off his chest, settling between him and the edge of the bed instead.

“Cloud has grown up a lot since I last saw him.” Claudia’s voice was soft as she ran fingers through his hair. Sephiroth tried to relax; he reminded himself that she wasn’t a threat and that there was no reason to be alarmed. “I guess working for Shinra forces people to grow up fast… maybe a bit too fast.” She paused, and suddenly withdrew her hand. “Oh, I’m sorry… Is this making you uncomfortable?”

“…I’m just not used to being touched”, Sephiroth admitted, not wanting to open his eyes to inevitably see the look of pity on her face. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologise for that”, Claudia said. “You just rest now until you feel better, okay? You can stay here for as long as you need to.”

“Thank you…” Sephiroth didn’t know what else to say. He’d done absolutely nothing to deserve this kindness. He’d nearly ended up getting Cloud and Zack killed because he’d listened to a voice in his head, he’d done so many horrible things in Shinra’s name… Maybe he wasn’t a monster, but nevertheless, he couldn’t claim to be a good person.

“No need to thank me”, Claudia replied. “You clearly mean the world to Cloud. He was so worried about you when you disappeared… Even though he’d been shot nearly to death, he was still trying to get out of bed to go find you!”

Shot nearly to death? Sephiroth felt something in his chest grow cold. All his memories between their first visit to the reactor and making up with Cloud at the Shinra mansion were blurred and unclear at best, and completely missing at worst. When had Cloud been shot? Had it been his fault? Even though he was lying down, he felt really dizzy, and it felt so hard to breathe… Claudia’s voice echoed from a distance; he could only barely make out what she was saying.

“Sephiroth? Do you need me to go get Cloud?” Somehow, he managed to nod, and he heard her footsteps as she hurried away.

“Hey. Hey! Sephiroth!” He must’ve spaced out, because suddenly, Cloud was there. He cracked his eyes open and found Cloud peering down at him with a concerned expression on his face. “That’s it… Just try to breathe, okay? What’s wrong? Was it something my mom said?”

Cloud was right here. Cloud was safe. Sephiroth tried to focus on that, on the kind look Cloud was giving him and on the hand Cloud placed on his cheek.

“No, it’s, ah… You didn’t tell me that you nearly died”, he managed to choke out while still trying to get his breathing back under control. In response, Cloud simply grimaced, clearly uncomfortable and caught off guard.

“Uh, yeah, right… Sorry about that. Didn’t wanna make you worry… It wasn’t your fault!” He seemed very insistent on that last part.

“What happened?” Sephiroth questioned.

“Hojo”, Cloud said, seemingly without any intention to elaborate. He moved Goblin aside, much to her chagrin, and squeezed himself onto the bed to join Sephiroth under the sheets, laying his head down on Sephiroth’s chest and wrapping his arms loosely around Sephiroth’s waist. “Everything turned out okay, though. It’s okay… You’re okay…”

Hojo. Of course it was. It was _always_ Hojo. With Cloud so close, it felt easier to breathe, but the knowledge that Hojo had nearly taken Cloud from him – just like he took everything else – left him fuming. Fear gave way to anger.

“I’m going to kill him.” Once the words had left his mouth, he regretted them. Hadn’t he already done enough? Cloud deserved better than to hear this, especially when he was so certain that Sephiroth wasn’t a monster…

“Not before you’ve recovered”, Cloud said. “And not if I kill him first.” Sephiroth felt Cloud’s hand curl into a fist against his skin. “Everything horrible that happened is his fault.”

He wasn’t wrong. Whenever something went wrong in Sephiroth’s life, it could usually be traced back to Hojo somehow. It really didn’t take much effort to figure out that he’d had something to do with that… thing in the reactor.

“I was… thinking, earlier.” Cloud sounded oddly hesitant. “About what to do next. Zack’s heading back to Midgar.” The silence afterwards felt tense, as if he’d intended to say something more.

“You want us to go with him”, Sephiroth guessed.

“You’re not going anywhere until you feel better”, Cloud said firmly. “My mom promised to look after you. You’ll be safe here.”

“Oh.” Finally, it clicked. “You… want me to stay here, while you go to Midgar.” Sephiroth wasn’t sure how to feel in the silence that followed. Was he really that much of a burden in his current state? What did Cloud want to do in Midgar in the first place? What if something ended up happening to him…?

“I haven’t decided”, Cloud replied. “There’s a lot of stuff I need to do… but if you want me to stay here, I will.”

“You don’t have to stay because of me”, Sephiroth said immediately. He was already enough of an inconvenience as it was… Of course he didn’t want Cloud to go, but he couldn’t get too clingy now, could he? He had a feeling that would probably be unappealing. Sephiroth, hero of SOLDIER, begging for his boyfriend to stay because he’d get lonely without him… Pathetic.

“Sephiroth.” Cloud sat up and looked down at Sephiroth, a serious expression on his face. “We agreed that we needed to be honest and talk to each other, right?”

“…I don’t own you. You can go wherever you want.” Even as he said those words, a part of him protested. Cloud had promised, hadn’t he? That they’d stay together from now on… His thoughts must’ve been obvious on his face, because Cloud simply sighed.

“I know. But I’m asking you. Do you want me to stay?” He bent down to press a soft kiss to Sephiroth’s forehead.

“…I do”, Sephiroth admitted. “But…”

“Then I’ll stay.” Cloud dropped back down, tucking his head into the crook of Sephiroth’s neck. “I don’t want you to be lonely.”

“I’m used to being lonely”, Sephiroth murmured. “I can handle it.” He’d been alone for most of his life, after all… It could be worse; at least he was in a safe place where he didn’t have to constantly be on guard, and Claudia was nice to him… 

“Maybe you can, but I don’t want you to. Not anymore, dammit.” He felt Cloud’s grip on him tighten. “Fuck, I feel like an ass for even suggesting it… I’m sorry.”

Cloud didn’t want him to be alone. Sephiroth inhaled shakily, trying to make sense of the myriad of feelings he was experiencing right now. He blamed them on the Mako overdose; his emotional state wasn’t usually this… all over the place.

“I’m sorry too, for being… like this.”

“Like what?”

“Weak. Sad. Clingy”, Sephiroth whispered. “I don’t… feel like myself at all.” Not that he was even particularly sure how he was supposed to feel, anymore.

“Hey… Don’t say that. It’s okay.” Cloud’s hand found its way to Sephiroth’s cheek. “You’re sick, of course you’re gonna feel miserable.” He paused for a moment, his fingers reaching out to scratch behind Sephiroth’s ear. “And I don’t mind you being clingy either. Cling to me as much as you need to.”

“I’ll just… do that then.” Sephiroth wrapped his arms around Cloud and tried to relax now that Cloud had confirmed that he didn’t mind. They were both silent for a while, simply clinging to each other for dear life, until Cloud spoke up.

“I’m just glad you’re still here even though I was an idiot.” Was that… guilt Sephiroth could hear in his voice? He didn’t want Cloud to be upset.

“Mm… You promised not to leave, so I won’t leave you either… even though you’re definitely an idiot”, he agreed and ruffled Cloud’s hair. In response, he earned a groan which turned into a laugh.

“Hey! I’m _your_ idiot”, Cloud corrected, sounding oddly smug about it. “And don’t you forget that!”

“My idiot…” Sephiroth mumbled and closed his eyes, finally feeling like he could breathe now that things didn’t feel as tense. “I’ll make sure to remember that.”

Everything was perfect until Goblin suddenly decided that Cloud’s fingers would make an excellent snack.


	3. Zack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're going to be doing a bit more POV switching this time around, I hope nobody minds ;D

“You guys ready to go?”

“Yeah!” Cher grinned and elbowed Dick. “I can drive, right Dick? I didn’t get to drive on the way here, and…”

“I’m driving”, Dick deadpanned, before turning to Zack. “As long as that’s fine with you, Zack.”

“Aw, c’mon, let me!”

“You two can settle that on your own”, Zack decided, leaving them to squabble by the truck as he headed back to the Strife residence. As soon as he stepped through the door, he was met by Claudia, who was holding a small box in her hands.

“Some snacks for the journey”, she said, beaming at him. “It’s a long way to go to Midgar.”

“Wow, thanks, ma’am… um, I mean Claudia!” Zack grinned back. Cloud had such a great mom. She reminded him of his own parents, back home in Gongaga… Maybe he should write them. He always meant to, but then ended up putting it off for one reason or another…

“You’re leaving already?” Before Zack could take the box from Claudia, Cloud rushed down the stairs, almost stumbling over his own feet.

“Yeah. I just came in to say goodbye. You’re staying here, right?”

“Yup. I’m not gonna ditch Sephiroth”, Cloud said firmly. It was exactly the answer Zack had been hoping for. He was rooting for these two idiots to patch things up. “Hey. Just… be careful, okay? And stay away from Shinra.” He looked so young in that moment, so concerned about Zack’s safety… It was adorable, really.

“What? How dumb do you think I am?” Zack stepped forward to sweep Cloud into a hug, which Cloud returned eagerly. “You should take care of yourself too. Stay out of trouble!”

“Of course I will! And it’s not my fault trouble keeps finding me!” Cloud sounded offended, but still tightened the hug.

“Going back to Midgar already?” Sephiroth made his way down the stairs, looking a bit better than the last time Zack had seen him. There were still bags under his eyes, and he wobbled somewhat as he walked, but he wasn’t quite as pale as he’d been earlier and seemed to have a bit more energy now.

“Yeah. Feeling better?”

“Somewhat”, Sephiroth grumbled and wandered over to Zack and Cloud, wrapping his arms around both of them and pressing his head down into Zack’s hair. Holy shit. Sephiroth, initiating a hug. Was the world ending?

“Whoa, you’re cuddly today!” It took Zack a moment to get over his initial surprise and place his arm around Sephiroth’s waist in return.

“He’s been like this since he woke up”, Cloud said. “He’s so adorable…”

“It’s the Mako”, Sephiroth muttered. Zack might not have been able to see his face, but he could practically feel the embarrassment radiating from Sephiroth.

“You can’t blame everything on the Mako, you big softie!” Cloud retorted playfully. “Just admit you wanted a hug…” He untangled himself from Zack and threw his arms around Sephiroth instead. Zack let go of Sephiroth and watched as the two of them embraced each other.

“Aww, you two are just too cute…” Zack hadn’t intended to say it out loud, but it was pretty great to hear Sephiroth let out a flustered sound as he hid his face in Cloud’s hair, while Cloud grinned and pulled him closer.

“They are, aren’t they?” Claudia cooed as she stepped closer and gave Zack the box. “You’re definitely invited to the wedding…”

“Mom, isn’t it a bit soon to be thinking about that?!”

“What? I’m just well-prepared for the inevitable!” Claudia retorted, letting out a laugh as Cloud glared at her.

“Make sure to keep in touch, Zack”, Sephiroth said, detaching himself from Cloud.

“I will, don’t worry! I’ll keep you updated!” Zack waved as he headed towards the door, smiling at his friends and hoping he’d see them again soon. He tried to tell himself that they’d be fine, they had each other, but he knew how hopeless the two of them could be… At least Claudia could keep an eye on them.

As Zack closed the door behind him, he suddenly caught sight of something black and red moving in the corner of his eye. He flinched, nearly dropping the lunch box until he realised who it was.

“Shit! You scared me, dude!”

“Boo”, Vincent deadpanned and leant back against the wall. Zack snorted, but then it quickly got awkward when Vincent didn’t say anything else. As Zack watched him, a thought that had plagued him for the last few days decided to slip out of his mouth.

“You’re Sephiroth’s dad, aren’t you?”

“…What makes you think so?” Vincent showed no emotion at his question, but his eyes – just as unnervingly piercing as Sephiroth’s – focused completely on Zack.

“Well, you were getting it on with his mom, weren’t you?” Vincent’s eyes narrowed at that. It made Zack nervous, and so, as he tended to do, he kept talking. “And hey, you look kinda similar too! Seriously! Tall, mysterious, smoking hot…”

“I’m not Sephiroth’s father”, Vincent said and turned on his heel to vanish around the corner.

“Hey! Wait!” Zack chased after him, but by the time he’d turned around the corner, Vincent was nowhere in sight; he’d simply vanished without a trace. “Oh? Um… Bye, then! I’ll see you later… hopefully!” He hurried back to the truck, hoping he hadn’t offended Vincent too much.

He got back to the truck, where Dick was just settling into the driver’s seat while Cher, pouting, had already taken a seat in the back. Zack went to join him, and so, they were off.

The journey was quiet for the most part for a couple of hours, as Dick was busy driving in silence and Cher was napping on top of a big supply box, leaving Zack to ponder what Aerith would think when he told her about everything that had happened. There was no way she’d believe him. It was all just too out there! But then again, she must’ve seen plenty of weird shit growing up in the Slums…

By the time they were approaching Costa del Sol, Cher, suddenly wide awake, sat up with a distressed expression on his face.

“Wait, how the fuck are we gonna get over the sea to Midgar?”

“Obviously the way we came, by boat!” Zack replied. What a weird thing to get concerned about…

“Didn’t Shinra arrange that, though?!” Cher stood up, nearly losing his balance as there was a bump in the road. “We’re on the run here, for fuck’s sake! What if they figure us out while we’re on the boat?! We won’t be able to get away!”

“…Oh.” Somehow, that thought hadn’t hit Zack at all. He tried to laugh it off, but it came out a lot more nervous than he’d intended. “Ah, it’ll be fine! Don’t worry about it…”

“Don’t you guys ever plan anything in advance?”

The voice was slightly muffled, so Zack didn’t recognise it at first. He flew to his feet, instantly ready to fight as the box Cher had been napping on top of opened. Cher shrieked and leapt to hide behind Zack as the lid of the box fell off… and Tifa peeked her head out.

“The fuck are you doing back there?” Dick questioned, clearly having a hard time keeping his eyes on the road. “Do I need to stop the car?”

“It’s fine, we just have an unexpected guest”, Zack said after his brain caught up with what was going on. “Hi, Tifa.”

“Hi! I got tired of getting left behind!” Tifa stepped out of the box, brushing dust off her jeans and stretching her limbs as she observed her surroundings, frowning. “Wait… Where are Cloud and the boyfriend?”

“They stayed in Nibelheim. You didn’t know?” Zack watched as her expression turned sour. “Did you… at least tell your parents where you went?” She shook her head. Okay, so they’d just accidentally pretty much kidnapped a girl. Shit. “Uh… it’s kinda… a bit late to turn back now.”

“Maybe we can let her off in Costa del Sol and she can catch a bus back to Nibelheim or something?” Cher suggested. He had taken a seat in the corner, still looking a bit shocked.

“You’re kidding!” Tifa snorted. “Right. A bus. To Nibelheim. That’s not gonna happen.”

“We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it”, Zack exclaimed and sat back down. Tifa sighed and sat down again as well.

After approximately three and a half minutes of awkward silence, Zack felt like he needed to break the silence by talking about something, anything. Of course, there was only really one option. He pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“Hey Tifa, I never got to show you pics of my girlfriend, right?”

“Oh boy, here he goes again…”

“I want to see!” Tifa scrambled over to sit next to Zack as he opened his folder of pictures of Aerith and began to talk all about her. How he’d met her by falling into her church, how she grew flowers in places where they shouldn’t be able to grow, how he’d helped her build a wagon to sell the flowers…

Zack got to thinking. He really should call her even if he couldn’t tell her anything, just to make sure she was okay. The Turks, and by extension Shinra, knew about his relationship with Aerith, since she was under Shinra surveillance. After everything that had happened in Nibelheim, would they be willing to go after her to get to him? Aerith didn’t deserve to get hurt over other people’s conflicts.

Not to mention that Cissnei had told him that Aerith was an Ancient. He still hadn’t asked Aerith about that; he wondered if she even knew. Or if she did know, why hadn’t she ever mentioned it? Maybe she didn’t trust him enough yet; he was a SOLDIER, after all…

“You should call her”, Tifa said, as if she’d been able to read his thoughts. He must’ve looked as confused as he felt, because she let out a laugh. “You’re pretty obvious, you know.”

“He is!” Cher agreed. “All he talks about is Aerith!”

“Can’t blame him”, Dick’s voice echoed from the front of the truck. “You should call her if you’re worried, Zack.”

“You think?” Zack stared down at his phone, at a picture Aerith had sent him of herself tending to the flowers outside her house, considering his dilemma for about five seconds in total before making his decision. Yeah, of course he was going to call her!


	4. Aerith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aerith time! And happy holidays to everyone too <3

Angie was acting restless, pacing around her as she tended to the flowers. It made Aerith concerned as well.

“Are you worried about Zack?” she wondered. Angie butted his head against her arm, and she ruffled the feathers on his wing in return. She hadn’t heard anything at all from Zack in a few days; he’d certainly seemed to be having fun last time they spoke – she couldn’t resist grinning to herself at the thought of it – but could something have happened? Zack had said it was just a routine mission…

Sephiroth and Cloud had gone with him too. Zack had seemed on edge when she’d asked about how they were doing, but he’d just claimed that he’d explain later. Typical Zack.

The Planet had been oddly quiet over the last few days too… as if it was waiting for something to happen. Aerith could feel the tension in her bones, and it was getting increasingly hard to ignore.

She wondered if it had something to do with Sephiroth. The Planet _hated_ him, and it liked to make that very clear to her. _Calamity from the skies_ , it whispered. Aerith couldn’t claim to understand – the Planet was hard to understand – but it was plain to see that Sephiroth wasn’t entirely human. Just like her. She wondered if he could hear the Planet too. Maybe she should ask him… Even if the Planet didn’t like him, even if she barely knew him, she hoped he was okay.

And Cloud… Unlike Sephiroth, he was clearly human, but she’d known something was off about him from the moment she first saw him. He knew her, somehow, and seeing her made him sad… Aerith hadn’t pieced it all together yet, but she wasn’t going to confront Cloud about it. She didn’t want to make him sadder than he already was, and she had a feeling he’d slip up sooner or later anyway.

Angie suddenly scurried away from her and leapt out of sight behind the church pews. Wondering what had startled him, Aerith turned around just in time to see the church doors open and caught sight of a familiar black suit.

“Tseng?” She stood up, surprised to see him actually approach her for once. Usually, he tended to lurk around the church without coming inside.

“Aerith.” He was looking worryingly serious. It was obvious that he wanted something from her. “Have you been in contact with Zack lately?”

“With Zack?” Aerith leant forward and tilted her head, smiling cheerfully at Tseng while pretending to think about it. “I saw him before he left for his last mission… but that was over a week ago. How so?” She figured Tseng didn’t need to know about how she’d had phone sex with Zack and two other guys just a few nights ago. No need to ruin his image of her as an innocent little flower girl…

“That’s confidential.”

“Hey, I’m not a little kid anymore! You can tell me!” she insisted. He raised an eyebrow at her, but she could feel conflict stirring within him.

“Let’s just say… your boyfriend has put himself in quite a tricky position when it comes to his relation to the Company.” Tseng crossed his arms and sighed. “It would probably be better for everyone if you… kept your distance, from now on.”

“Oh no! What happened?” Aerith tried to keep her tone light-hearted, but now that she knew something was definitely wrong, it was difficult. She’d figured Zack had managed to get himself into trouble; it was just like him… 

“I definitely can’t tell you about that”, he said firmly.

“C’mon, Tseng! Please?” She grabbed his arm and offered him her sweetest smile, trying to ignore how her heart was starting to race. He shook his head and opened his mouth to say something, but then Aerith’s phone started buzzing in her pocket.

“Why don’t you go ahead and answer that?” Tseng had a smug look on his face even before Aerith checked her phone and found that the caller was Zack.

“All right…” She could tell he wasn’t about to give her much of a choice. Taking a deep breath, she answered. “Hello?”

“Hey! It’s me!” Zack’s voice echoed over the line. “How are things over there? You know… with everything.” Even though he tried to sound like his usual cheerful self, Aerith could tell that it felt a bit forced.

“Pretty good! Tseng is visiting right now”, she said, hoping that it would be enough to prevent him from saying anything stupid. Tseng’s expression quickly turned into a frown, and she offered him a smile. “He says hi!”

“Tseng?” The shift in Zack’s tone was instant, and he lowered his voice into a whisper. “You should be careful, hanging around Turks…”

“Don’t worry about me”, Aerith said, suddenly feeling surprisingly bold as she firmly met Tseng’s gaze. He wouldn’t hurt her. She knew she was too valuable to Shinra for that. “I’ll be fine, I…”

The church doors opened again, and an unfamiliar man in a red coat stepped inside. The Planet screamed, not unlike it did around Sephiroth, and she felt a headache piercing enough to make her reflexively clutch at her head while gritting her teeth.

“All that awaits you is a sombre morrow, no matter where the winds may blow.” His voice was confident to the point of being annoying. Or maybe that was just the headache talking. “Now, why don’t you hand over the Cetra?”

“Genesis!” Tseng reacted instantly by pulling out his gun and pointing it at the man. Genesis? That name sounded familiar… Aerith distantly heard Zack calling her name in confusion over the phone.

Genesis rushed towards Tseng so quickly that neither he nor Aerith had time to retaliate. With a swift kick, he’d already disarmed Tseng, and with a headbutt, he’d managed to knock him out. Tseng dropped to the floor, unconscious.

While Aerith was busy being stunned by how easily Genesis had managed to take out a Turk, he flicked his wrist and set Aerith’s phone on fire. With a yelp, she dropped it. There was no time to think. She grabbed her staff from where she’d left it leaning against a church pew. She owned no Materia except for the Cure Zack had given her for her birthday, so she settled for swinging her staff at him.

“Oh, that’s cute.” Genesis grabbed the staff mid-swing and tugged it out of her hand, tossing it aside.

“What do you want?” Aerith questioned, taking a few steps back while trying to figure out an escape route. She doubted she could outrun him; it had hit her now why she recognised his name. Zack had mentioned him. He was that rogue SOLDIER 1st Class who’d been causing so much trouble! “Angie!” she called, hoping that he would rush in to help her, distract Genesis, _something_.

Angie stuck his head out from between the church pews, letting out a whining noise but not making any attempts to protect her. Genesis didn’t pay that any mind; his eyes remained firmly on Aerith as his lips curled into a smirk.

“Apologies, young lady.” He didn’t look very apologetic at all as a black wing unfurled from his left shoulder. “I’m afraid you’re coming with me.”


	5. Sephiroth

“You should talk to Vincent.”

“You think?” Sephiroth wasn’t particularly eager to move from this spot any time soon. Cloud was comfortably nestled up against him, and he didn’t feel nauseous at the moment. Right now, he couldn’t really ask for anything else.

“Mm. You wanna know about your real mom, right?”

“Of course I do…” Sephiroth huffed. What a ridiculous question. It was the one question that he would do anything to find the answer to. No matter what he found out about his mother, anything would be better than that… thing. Simply thinking about it made him shudder.

“Go talk to him, then”, Cloud said, sitting up and scrambling out of bed. Sephiroth groaned at the loss of his main heat source.

“Now?”

“Why not? He tends to wander off when left unguarded for too long, so you’d better catch him before he decides that Nibelheim isn’t for him anymore.” Cloud rushed out of the room before Sephiroth could question why he spoke about Vincent as if he was an old acquaintance and not a random man he’d found in the Shinra mansion a few days ago. “I’m just gonna go find you some clothes, wait here!” As if he had anywhere to go…

Some time later, Sephiroth found himself heading along the path towards the Shinra mansion, dressed in some old clothes that had apparently belonged to Cloud’s late father, because nothing else in the Strife household would fit him. Even then, the loose jeans looked too short for his long legs and the… _creatively_ coloured sweater was really itchy. At least the flip-flops fit.

It was strange, but Sephiroth almost felt nervous. If Cloud had been with him, he would probably have felt better about it, but Cloud had insisted he should go alone. Sephiroth would’ve protested, but he was tired of being clingy. Considering all the horrors he had faced in his lifetime – or even only the ones he’d faced in the last few days – asking a stranger some questions was definitely something he should be able to do on his own.

He reached the Shinra mansion, but wasn’t really sure where to go from there. Cloud had only said that Vincent was lurking around the mansion, nothing else. But then, a thought stirred in his subconscious, and suddenly, he knew exactly where to go.

The basement was an incredibly unsettling place, even when compared to Hojo’s laboratories. Sephiroth couldn’t remember the time he’d spent in there reading particularly well, but the fragmented memories he had were already uncomfortable enough. He found Vincent in the depths of the library, poking around the bookshelves without a lot of engagement.

“Mr Valentine”, Sephiroth said, feeling the need to announce his presence. Vincent flinched, but didn’t turn Sephiroth’s way.

“Sephiroth”, he simply said in return. “Just call me Vincent.”

“All right, Vincent. I… wanted to ask you some questions.” Sephiroth didn’t know where to start. He had so many things he wanted to know, about his mother, how Vincent knew her, what she’d been like… and yet, he found himself asking another question entirely. “How do you know Cloud?”

“I don’t.” Vincent stated. “As for how he knows me… Not my story to tell.” As Sephiroth pondered his cryptic words, Vincent set the book he’d been looking through aside and finally turned to look at Sephiroth. “You’re here because of your mother, aren’t you?” He was hard to read, but somehow, Sephiroth thought he looked sad.

“…I am.” Sephiroth bit his lip, finding himself unable to look Vincent in the eye. Vincent’s eyes were all wrong, too bright, too strangely coloured, just like his own. “There are… a lot of things I want to know.”

“Ask away, then.”

“All right.” Sephiroth wondered where to start. With the obvious, he supposed. “What was her name?”

“They didn’t even tell you her name?” Vincent was staring him down now. Sephiroth wasn’t sure what to make of that intense look. Anger, maybe? He lowered his head, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling that was building in his chest.

“Hojo told me her name was Jenova, but after what happened… that’s not true, I suspect.”

“Absolutely not. That creature is not your mother.” Vincent’s eyes had narrowed at the mention of Hojo; yes, that was definitely anger. “It’s not your fault”, he added quickly, the anger vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. “Lucrecia. That’s her name. Doctor Lucrecia Crescent.”

“Lucrecia Crescent”, Sephiroth repeated, testing how the name felt on his tongue. Unfamiliar. Strange. “That means…” The strange feeling in his chest had worked its way up to his throat. “I’m… Sephiroth Crescent.” He liked it. He liked it more than he could possibly have imagined.

“What name did you go by before?” Vincent asked, sounding almost hesitant now.

“I’ve always just been Sephiroth…” Sephiroth confessed. He’d wanted a last name for so long. When he was younger, he’d secretly wished he could be Sephiroth Faremis; however, that dream had died when Gast disappeared. But he wasn’t going to get caught up on this one detail, not when there was so much more he could ask. He wanted – no, _needed_ – to know more. “What was she like?”

“…Kind. Caring, though she wasn’t always good at expressing it.” Vincent now seemed very fascinated with the bookshelf to his side. “Incredibly intelligent, dedicated to her research… and very stubborn.” His lips curled into a soft smile for a brief moment, before his emotionless mask slipped back into place.

“How did you know her? Were you… a scientist too?” Sephiroth asked. Vincent didn’t particularly look like a scientist. Vincent shook his head, almost appearing… amused, maybe?

“No. I was with the Turks.” He didn’t particularly look like a Turk either, to be completely honest… “I was assigned to be her bodyguard while she and the other scientists stayed in this mansion for the project they were working on. Not that it did any of us any good in the end…”

“What project?” To know that his mother had been here, in this place… It was so strange.

“They wanted to see if they could create a superhuman by injecting the cells of Jenova into an unborn baby.” Vincent closed his eyes, shaking his head in dismay. “Lucrecia decided that she was going to get pregnant and offer up her child as a test subject. Hojo shot me when I tried to stop her, and they ended up experimenting on me to keep me alive.”

Suddenly, Sephiroth’s legs just weren’t eager to keep him upright anymore. He stumbled around the desk in the middle of the room and flopped down in the chair behind it, trying to process what he’d just been told. His own mother had assigned him to this fate.

“So she…” He tried to focus on breathing. This was too much, all at once. “…she didn’t want me.”

“That’s not true.” Vincent stepped closer to Sephiroth, but still kept his distance. Sephiroth tilted his head down, not sure he’d be able to look him in the eye. “She loved you very much, I’m sure of it. I had already been made an experiment by the time you were born, so I don’t know what happened to make her leave you with Hojo, but…”

“She died in childbirth. At least… that’s what Hojo told me.” But then again, he wasn’t very inclined to trust Hojo, especially lately.

“Hojo lied.” Vincent sounded certain of it. Sephiroth looked up to meet his gaze, trying to ignore the small flicker of hope he suddenly felt. “Most of the time, I wasn’t conscious, but once, I heard them, while I was being kept in a Mako tank…”

“What did they say?” Sephiroth’s heart was beating fast now. It was impossible to pretend otherwise.

“She…” Vincent paused, drawing a shaky breath. “She kept asking Hojo to give you back. To let her see you… just once. I have no idea what happened to her after that.”

“…Oh.” Sephiroth felt so small, all of a sudden. He pulled his legs up onto the chair, wrapped his arms around them and pressed his head down against his knees. So she had wanted him, after all… But then, where had she gone?

“I should have tried harder to stop them”, Vincent murmured. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t need your apologies”, Sephiroth mumbled. He appreciated it; he really did. He just didn’t really understand why Vincent was apologising. What reason did he have to care about the brat of some woman he knew once upon a time…? He peered up at Vincent, only to find himself being watched closely. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You just… remind me of her.” The hints of emotions in his voice were brief, but they were definitely there. Sorrow. Regret. And something else… Somehow, in that instant, Sephiroth just knew.

“You were in love with her.”

“Yes”, Vincent admitted, quickly looking away from Sephiroth again. It led to another train of thought he just couldn’t stop. Sephiroth kept looking at Vincent, trying to spot anything to cling to. They had similar body types, were around the same height, and weren’t their facial structures kind of similar too?

He didn’t want to ask, because he didn’t want to get an answer he didn’t want to hear. But the thought was there now, planted in his head, and he found he couldn’t just let it go.

“Are you my father?”

“No”, Vincent said.

“You’re lying”, Sephiroth said, trying very hard to keep the desperation out of his voice, because if Vincent wasn’t, then… “Then… who is?” Maybe it was Gast, he tried to tell himself; Gast had already been the closest thing he’d had to a father, so it wouldn’t be such a stretch, and it would be better than…

“Hojo”, Vincent said.

No. No, no, no! He would rather accept the monster in the reactor as his mother, anything else would be better, _anything_ …! The desperate feeling that had been building inside of him gave way to anger.

“Hojo is _not_ my father!” he snarled, leaping to his feet, kicking the desk over and sending papers scattering all over the floor. It couldn’t be true, it just _couldn’t_! Vincent had to be lying. Yes, that was it… “You’re lying! This could all be an attempt to manipulate me! Why should I believe you in the first place?!” he snapped. He expected Vincent to retaliate, to attempt to explain himself, but instead, Vincent simply sighed.

“You don’t have to.” Somehow, that wasn’t what Sephiroth had wanted to hear at all; if anything, it only made him more frustrated. He opened his mouth to keep yelling at Vincent, needing to vent his frustrations somehow, but was caught off guard when Vincent took something out of his pocket. A photo…? “But I think you should look at this.”

Sephiroth tore it from him immediately, running his eyes over the photo to analyse it. Four people standing outside the Shinra mansion. He recognised Gast and Hojo immediately. It took him a moment longer to recognise Vincent in the Turk outfit, his hair shorter and eyes less piercing. Next to him, there was a woman in a lab-coat he didn’t recognise…

Vincent dropped something else into his hands, on top of the photo. A Shinra ID, he realised, with a picture of the same woman… He read her name, and froze.

… _Oh._ Sephiroth stared at her, taking in her appearance. Long brown hair tied back into a ponytail with a yellow ribbon. Warm brown eyes peering into the camera, as her lips curled into a small smile. He studied her closely; they had the same bangs, the same small, pointy nose, the same thick, dark eyelashes…

“I… I look like her.” All his anger melted away, just like that. His entire life, she had just been a vague metaphysical concept, existing somewhere beyond the reality he could grasp… and yet, here she was. Happy. Alive. Human. He sunk back into the chair again.

“I found these while I was looting through some of the cupboards in here…” Vincent said. “It’s all I can offer you… My apologies.” Again, why was he apologising?

“No… It’s perfect.” Sephiroth kept his voice low to make it less obvious how shaky it was. He wanted to ask if he could keep the pictures, but felt like that would probably be very selfish of him. Surely, Vincent wouldn’t be eager to give away the only things he had left of the woman he loved…

“Keep them”, Vincent said, as if he’d read Sephiroth’s mind. “I have my memories of her to cling to. You don’t even have that.” He raised his hand, seemingly hesitating for a moment, but then reached out to ruffle Sephiroth’s hair just a little bit. Sephiroth looked up at him, fully intending to question his actions, but by then, Vincent was already heading out of the room with brusque steps.

 _Wait. Don’t go_ , Sephiroth wanted to say. He still wanted to ask more questions, about the project that had created him, about Lucrecia, about Vincent and his past… But Vincent was gone before he could convince himself to say anything, so he simply sighed and made himself more comfortable. This whole ordeal had been utterly exhausting…

He remained in that chair for a long time, tracing the contours of her face with his fingertips, trying to burn it into his memory.


	6. Cloud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late chapter, stayed up late to celebrate the new year and somehow forgot I was supposed to post today... I hope everyone had a good start to 2020!!

Sephiroth being out of Cloud’s line of sight for a little while shouldn’t have been this nerve-wrecking. Cloud wasn’t even sure what it was that kept stressing him out; he had faith that Sephiroth wasn’t going to snap again, and he trusted Vincent not to cause any problems… But ever since Sephiroth had left to go find Vincent, he’d been on edge.

Cloud sat down on his bed to put a stop to his endless pacing around the room, trying to soothe his nerves by patting the sleeping Goblin a bit. He tried to go over the biggest problems that stood in his way. Shinra was, in general, of course, a problem, but how about specific individuals? Hojo, the President, possibly the rest of the executives – with the exception of Reeve… Who else…?

Oh, right. Genesis was a problem too… Cloud just didn’t know what to make of him at all. His sudden appearance in the reactor had been such a gut-punch, even for Cloud. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what it must’ve felt like for Sephiroth. Did the Sephiroth from his timeline experience that too? Cloud had no way of knowing…

“He did. It was the last straw for him. He told Genesis to rot.”

…except, apparently, he did. Cloud glanced over his shoulder and found her sitting on the bed behind him, her back turned to him. Goblin stirred, let out a dismayed sound and flew off the bed in a hurry, disappearing out of sight as she rushed out of the room.

“…Aerith?” Cloud reached out to touch her shoulder, only to find that he couldn’t; his hand simply phased right through her, no sign that anything had happened except for the cold chill he felt down his spine. For fuck’s sake. Cloud let out a groan. “Oh, great. I’m seeing things again.”

“You’re not. I just thought that I might as well pay you a visit, now that you actually remember me for once.” She sounded far too amused by his reaction. “So, are you still having fun?”

“I mean… I’m still making it all up as I go, but…” Cloud stopped as his brain caught up with everything. “…The Genesis thing always happened, huh…?” It was already difficult enough for him to grasp that the Sephiroth of this timeline – _his_ Sephiroth – and the Sephiroth from his future had ever been the same person…

“Oh, he’s _your_ Sephiroth now, is he? Isn’t that just precious…?” she murmured. Somehow, Cloud felt like he was being made fun of.

“Hey, maybe don’t do that mind reading thing… It’s kinda freaking me out.” Not that he could really blame Aerith for sounding bitter about it, considering her history with Sephiroth… if this was even happening to begin with and she wasn’t just a figment of his imagination, that was.

“I can’t help that your thoughts are really loud”, she retorted. “So where do we go from here? Are you going to solve all your problems by tossing them into the Lifestream?”

…Shit. Somehow, Cloud hadn’t considered the long-term consequences of what he ended up doing with Jenova. He hadn’t expected to make it this far, after all. Fuck, how badly had he messed up there? He tried to think it over.

“Jenova can’t do anything on her own, though… right?” Jenova by herself had never been too much of an issue; it was her role as the instigator of Sephiroth’s actions that tended to cause trouble. “She’s… only really dangerous if she can brainwash someone into doing her bidding. And Sephiroth isn’t in the Lifestream, so…”

“Is that what this has turned into?” She let out a laugh. “Poor little Sephiroth, just an innocent victim who never meant to hurt anyone, is that it? Need I remind you that you used to see him very differently?”

“Maybe I just know him better than you do”, Cloud said. She laughed again, clearly finding some sort of amusement in this. He wasn’t sure he understood what was so funny.

“Oh, Cloud… I’m sure you do.”

“Should I be worried about Jenova, then?” Cloud asked, not really sure where this conversation was going.

“Hmm… No need. As you said, she won’t act on her own. She isn’t…”

“Cloud? Who are you talking to?” He hadn’t even noticed that the door had opened until Sephiroth peeked his head in, giving Cloud a slightly concerned look. Cloud turned to stare at Aerith, who only let out an amused huff as she vanished without a trace. Sephiroth clearly hadn’t been able to see her, as he was still simply staring at Cloud when Cloud turned his attention back to him.

“Uh… I was just talking to myself.” World’s lamest excuse. Sephiroth seemed to agree, raising an eyebrow at him in response. “Hey, I’m serious!” Cloud insisted. “It’s really good for sorting out your thoughts!”

“Is that so? What kinds of thoughts have you been having, then?” Sephiroth’s lips curled into the barest hints of a smirk. “I think I might be able to guess what’s got you so worked up… It’s me, isn’t it?”

For a moment, Cloud thought Sephiroth had somehow managed to figure him out. Then he actually looked into Sephiroth’s eyes and saw the mischievous glint in them.

“Hey! I’ll have you know I’m not horny all the time!” he declared dramatically and dropped down to lie on his back on the bed as he looked Sephiroth over, taking in just how silly he looked in those ill-fitting clothes. “Especially not for that ugly sweater.”

“I’m going to keep it on just because you said that.” Sephiroth approached the bed and dropped down next to Cloud. “…Look. Vincent gave me these.”

Sephiroth placed two items in Cloud’s hands. A picture of Vincent, when he was younger, along with three Shinra scientists, including a familiar face Cloud hadn’t seen in a while, and a Shinra ID card featuring that same face. Cloud wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen Lucrecia look so happy. But then again, he’d only ever seen her encased in crystal, drowning in her own misery… Cloud hadn’t even known Vincent had these items. He must’ve guarded them closely… yet he’d given them to Sephiroth.

“Is this your mom?” Cloud asked, even though he already knew. Sephiroth nodded, smiling softly as he watched the pictures of her.

“Yes… Lucrecia Crescent…” He shifted closer to Cloud, tucking his head into the crook of Cloud’s neck. “I have a last name now.” Sephiroth sounded so genuinely happy with that simple fact that it made Cloud’s heart ache. “I just wish I knew what happened to her…” Sephiroth’s smile faded into a sorrowful expression. “It’s just like with Professor Gast…”

“Professor Gast?” Cloud vaguely recognised the name, but his shitty memory was being a pain as usual.

“The man who was in charge of the Shinra Science Department before Hojo. He disappeared under mysterious circumstances when I was very young, but I still remember… he was always nice to me.” He placed his hand on Cloud’s chest, curling his fingers into Cloud’s shirt.

Cloud’s heart nearly stopped when he remembered the tapes they’d discovered in Icicle Inn what felt like lifetimes ago. Gast, the man who had discovered Jenova, the only scientist Sephiroth had respected… Aerith’s father. He had been murdered by Hojo. And Sephiroth had no idea. There were so many things Sephiroth deserved to know, but Cloud couldn’t give them to him. Not without… telling him.

“We’ll figure it out. Don’t worry”, Cloud said and turned to press a kiss to Sephiroth’s forehead. He tried to tell himself that he wasn’t seriously considering telling Sephiroth, that there was no way Sephiroth would take it well, or even believe him in the first place…

For a while, the silence between them was tense. Cloud had a lot of things he wanted to say, and he could tell Sephiroth had something he wanted to say as well.

“How do you know Vincent?” Sephiroth asked. “He said… he didn’t know you, but that you knew him.” Of course he did. It was just like Vincent to spout some cryptic bullshit like that… Oh, fuck it, it wasn’t like Cloud had any excuses lined up. Either Sephiroth would believe him or he wouldn’t.

“I’m a time traveller”, Cloud blurted out. “Vincent and I met five years from now when we were trying to stop a meteor from colliding with the Planet while simultaneously overthrowing the Shinra Company.”

Sephiroth was silent for a moment. Then, he snorted, and Cloud’s heart sank.

“You could just have said you didn’t want to tell me”, Sephiroth grumbled and pressed his face further against Cloud’s neck, clearly trying to hold back a laugh.

“It’s all true”, Cloud said in a deadpan tone, automatically playing along. “We went on a journey all around the world… all the way out into space, actually. And we fought some big-ass monsters that came crawling out of the Planet’s core. I became a famous Chocobo racer somewhere along the way too.” Of course Sephiroth didn’t believe him. It was better this way… so why did it make Cloud so sad?

“All right. Keep your secrets.” Sephiroth lifted his head slightly, so he could peer down into Cloud’s eyes, expression kind yet firm. “I know you enjoy being mysterious, but we promised to be more open with each other. That goes for you too, but I’m not going to force you to talk. But if something is wrong, please… just tell me.”

“Don’t worry. Everything is fine”, Cloud said and tried his best to smile. Sephiroth smiled back, looking so genuinely happy that it was hard for Cloud to think of anything else. He’d done this. He was the one who’d put that smile on Sephiroth’s face. Even if everything else was just too much to bear, even if it all went to hell eventually, he would treasure that he’d made Sephiroth happy, at least for a while. Gods, he’d turned into such a sappy bastard.


	7. Aerith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nearly forgot to update today, lol

Aerith had no problem admitting that the sky terrified her. She knew it was a bit strange, but she had promised herself that she was going to try to overcome that problem by daring to venture above the Plate to sell flowers with Zack. It would’ve been an excellent way to face her fears; just a day out with her boyfriend…

She definitely hadn’t intended that her first time seeing the sky would be _this_ terrifying. Before she could process what was happening, Genesis had grabbed her, tossed her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing and taken to the skies.

Instantly, Aerith squeezed her eyes shut and tried to keep her entire body as still as possible. If she moved, he might drop her. If she opened her eyes, she would probably end up screaming. Her heart was racing, and the Planet was still screeching in her head. She tried to shut the voices out, and they gradually fell silent after a while, as if realising their protests were in vain, but the headache remained.

She wasn’t sure for how long she clung desperately to the back of Genesis’s coat without daring to open her eyes. Eventually, terror turned into curiosity, and she cracked her eyes open, gasping as her vision was filled with bright, blinding light. She stared up at the blue sky, squinting to make sure the sun – the _sun_! – didn’t blind her with its rays. In the distance, she could see Midgar like a dark blob on the horizon, ruining the perfect landscape.

…Oh. She made the mistake of looking down, and though she couldn’t tell over the noise of the wind, she had a feeling the yelp she let out was pretty loud. Time to squeeze her eyes shut again…

Genesis’s flight had been surprisingly steady up until that point, so when Aerith suddenly felt him starting to rapidly descend, she immediately started trying to come up with a way to survive a crash-landing. Thankfully, Genesis tumbled down gracefully enough to allow her to get away with scraping her knees as they crashed into the ground.

“Ow…” Aerith scrambled to her feet, brushing dirt off her dress and took a look at her surroundings. In one direction, there were only grasslands as far as she could see, and in the other, an enormous marsh that also stretched out far beyond the horizon… A groan from Genesis made her turn her attention downwards; he was lying on his back, staring up at the sky with a suffering expression on his face. “Are you okay?”

“Fine”, Genesis snapped like a petulant child, pulling himself up into a sitting position and crossing his arms as he flexed his wing experimentally. “Ah… but I won’t be flying any time soon. Clearly I’m in no state to kidnap fair maidens.”

“So you’ve stranded us in the middle of nowhere…” Aerith wondered if it was a SOLDIER thing to lack the capacity to plan ahead. “What do you want from me anyway?”

“You’re taking this surprisingly well.” He watched her closely as he got to his feet, not taking his eyes off her for a second. “You’re an Ancient. A Cetra. My body is degrading, and I need a cure. You’re going to give me one.” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about”, Aerith said, maybe a bit too quickly. Her mother – Ifalna – had always told her to keep quiet about being a Cetra. Somehow, everyone around her seemed to find out one way or another anyway. She had no idea how to help him either way. Did she even want to? He hadn’t exactly made the best first impression on her… but he really did look very sick… It was too difficult to make this decision now, especially with a headache.

“That doesn’t matter. You’re going to heal me whether you like it or not, and that’s that on that”, Genesis said firmly.

“I’m just a normal girl from the Slums, I don’t know how to do that!” Aerith insisted.

“No normal girl would be watched over by Turks. And you have to. There’s no other option”, Genesis declared and started pacing around Aerith, his coat billowing dramatically behind him. “Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul… Pride is lost… Wings stripped away, the end is nigh.”

“…Huh?”

“LOVELESS, Act 2”, Genesis said, and gave her a look that told her he was incredibly disappointed in her. Aerith rolled her eyes. Of course he was one of _those_ guys.

“I’ve never read LOVELESS.”

“Excuse me?” Genesis gasped and placed a hand on his chest, very obviously affronted. “The last Cetra, so painfully uneducated in the fine arts and cultural history of our Planet?”

“I live in the Slums, you pretentious jerk!” She was getting so frustrated with him at this point that for a moment, she completely forgot to watch her tongue. “Do you think I can afford going to the theatre?”

Genesis opened his mouth for a rebuttal, but quickly shut it again and turned to look out over the marsh, his entire body tensing up and face paling rapidly. Aerith wondered if he had noticed something she didn’t, with his enhanced senses.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Midgar Zolom”, Genesis whispered, pulling out his sword. “Don’t move.” When Aerith looked out over the marsh, she could see a shadow rapidly moving towards them under the surface of the water.

Aerith had heard stories of the Midgar Zolom. Her mom – Elmyra this time – used to tell her bedtime stories about it when she was younger. In those stories it was always vicious, bloodthirsty and very, very dangerous. As soon as it appeared from the depths, Aerith could tell that all of those things were true.

It was… also even larger than she had expected it to be. And its teeth were even sharper too. She quickly stepped back, staying behind Genesis as he launched a Thundaga towards it. The Zolom snarled and tried to snap at Genesis, who leapt into the air with a surprising amount of grace and sliced a deep cut into its face. For several long, intense seconds, they were locked in battle; Aerith watched them, terrified yet awestruck, only barely remembering to breathe. She’d never seen a SOLDIER in action quite like this before…

Genesis may have been enhanced, but he clearly wasn’t in optimal shape. The Zolom’s jaws got closer and closer to getting a grip on him. Aerith wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do; Genesis was clearly having trouble, and she should’ve taken advantage and tried to run, but could she really just leave him to possibly get killed?

She didn’t get the opportunity to make that choice. The Zolom lashed out with its tail and struck Genesis in the chest, sending him flying as it turned its attention to Aerith. Aerith took a few steps back. No way to run. No weapon. No Materia…

Materia…? Hadn’t her mother once told her something about Cetra and Materia…? She’d been so young; it was hard to remember…

The Zolom lunged towards her, and automatically, at loss of what else to do, she raised her hands in a desperate attempt to brace for impact. As if on command, several large icicle spears shot up from the ground, and before Aerith could completely manage to process what had just happened, the Zolom had been frozen within a large block of ice, rendered completely harmless.

“…Oh”, was the only thing she managed to say, still trying to comprehend what had just happened – had she done that? – as Genesis stumbled towards her, looking just as bewildered as she felt.

“That was probably the most powerful Blizzaga I’ve ever seen, and I’m _me_ ”, he exclaimed. “Where exactly are you hiding such a powerful Materia?”

“I don’t have any!” Aerith insisted, holding out her arms to show that she wasn’t wearing any equipment for it. The Cure Materia Zack had given her had been slotted into her staff, and her mother’s Materia didn’t do anything… She expected Genesis to argue, but instead, his lips curled into a grin.

“No point in denying it anymore then, _Cetra_.”

Aerith remembered, then, what Ifalna had told her long ago. She felt silly now for not realising earlier. It was the kind of thing she would never have forgotten, if she hadn’t spent so long trying to convince herself that she wasn’t anything special at all, and that Ifalna’s stories were just stories.

_The Cetra can use magic without Materia._


	8. Zack

“So this contact of yours… you sure they can help?” Cher asked while drawing patterns into the sand with the barrel of his gun.

“It’s our only option right now”, Zack said and took a bite out of one of Claudia’s sandwiches. It was delicious, but did nothing to lessen his anxiety. The only thing he could think about was Aerith… Was she okay? What had happened when the phone call cut off? The last thing he’d heard was Tseng yelling something; it had sounded urgent… He was trying his absolute hardest not to think too hard about it. He could handle this like a professional. “I have to get back to Midgar as quickly as possible. You don’t have to come with me if you don’t wanna.”

“Of course we’re coming”, Dick said, unloading his bag from the back of the truck while finishing his own sandwich. “Your girlfriend’s in danger, right? We’ll help, if we can.”

“You’re not getting rid of us!” Tifa declared. She’d taken her shoes and socks off to dip her feet in the water, clearly amazed by the sight of the Costa del Sol ocean. Zack wondered if she’d ever left Nibelheim before. She certainly had a lot of guts, eagerly joining in on a rescue mission to save a girl she’d never met just because she could…

“Guess you’ll all just have to stick around and wait here with me, then…”

They waited in silence for a few minutes, until a Shinra helicopter swooped in over their heads. Dick and Cher both turned to Zack with alarmed expressions on their faces, while Tifa dropped the seashells she’d been picking up. The helicopter landed further down on the beach. Zack began power-walking towards it, expecting the others to follow.

“Zack!” Cissnei stuck her head out through the helicopter door and waved to them. 

“A Turk?” Zack heard Cher question. Glancing over his shoulder, he found Cher raising his gun, but Dick immediately elbowed him and took the gun from him. “Hey! Seriously! What’s up with this? Is _she_ your contact, Zack?”

“I don’t think we need to worry if Zack trusts her”, Tifa pointed out and jogged over to catch up with Zack just as he reached the helicopter.

“She’s a friend. No need to worry, guys”, he assured them. Admittedly, he wasn’t _entirely_ sure he could trust her, but from all the people working for the Shinra Company, Cissnei was the best bet he had to get to Midgar quickly. “Thanks for coming at such a short notice, Cissnei…” Zack sheepishly handed her what was left of his lunch. “Sandwich?”

“Thanks.” She took it and gave a cheerful grin in response. “And not a problem. I was headed to Midgar anyway. Now get into the helicopter, nerds.”

Zack climbed into the helicopter and found a blonde teenager peering curiously at him from the seat next to Cissnei. He stared back at her, not having expected anyone except Cissnei to be there for this thing he’d specifically told her was top-secret.

“Uh…”

“Oh yeah, this is Elena. She’s from the Shinra Military Academy”, Cissnei said, then leant in and stage-whispered to him. “Sorry, not getting any alone time with me today…”

“An intern?” Zack hadn’t even been aware the Turks did interns… He sat down in the seat behind Elena. Tifa, Dick and Cher scrambled to fit next to him, and it quickly became clear that it wasn’t going to work out when Dick’s elbow hit Zack in the face. “Yeah, okay, we can’t do it like this.”

“Elena, you and the new girl can share your seat, and then you guys can sort something out in the back”, Cissnei said. Elena shifted aside, looking a bit jittery as Tifa squeezed into the seat next to her, offering her a friendly smile.

Zack tried to nap on the way back to Midgar, but it was difficult for various reasons. Firstly, Cher and Dick had decided on the same thing; Dick had fallen asleep in a sitting position and was snoring loudly while Cher ended up sprawled out with his head in Dick’s lap and his legs in Zack’s. Secondly, Tifa and Elena had apparently hit it off after they got over the initial awkward silence, so now they were talking loudly and enthusiastically.

“So what do they teach you at the Military Academy?”

“Oh, um… All sorts of things, really. How to use different weapons and fighting styles… How so? Ah… Are you interested in joining?”

“Just curious. You see, I’m training to be a martial artist, so…”

“Why did you need to get back to Midgar so urgently anyway? Weren’t you on a mission with Sephiroth?” Cissnei asked suddenly.

“Stuff happened. It’s confidential”, Zack said. He would’ve expected Cissnei to be aware of what was going on, but maybe they hadn’t informed her since she hadn’t been stationed in Midgar when Zack got in touch with her.

“I’m a Turk. Nothing is confidential for me”, she retorted. “Where’s Sephiroth?”

“Safe. That’s all I can say on the subject”, Zack replied. Cissnei seemed to realise there was no point in interrogating him further and didn’t say anything more after that, concentrating on piloting the helicopter instead, leaving Zack to drift off to an uneasy but thankfully dreamless sleep.

“Where in Midgar are you headed to?” Cissnei’s voice pulled him back into a waking state instantly, and with a quick peek outside, Zack could see that they were already circling Midgar. “I can land somewhere close by.”

“Sector 5”, he admitted. Even though it would clue her in on what he was up to, he didn’t want to waste any time.

“To the Slums, I’m guessing?” Cissnei let out a sigh. “Did you seriously make me skip out on work just to see your girlfriend quicker?” Tifa glanced over at Zack, looking very much like she wanted to jump to his defence, but he shook his head. Not worth it. “Okay. One boyfriend delivery for Aerith Gainsborough, coming right up…”

She landed the helicopter right next to Aerith’s house, which Zack admittedly thought was a bit extra. He ushered Tifa, Dick and Cher out of the helicopter as quickly as he possibly could, and wasn’t exactly impressed when Cissnei and Elena followed along as well.

“You can go now”, Zack told them. Elena looked like she was about to scurry back to the helicopter, but Cissnei grabbed her arm before she could escape.

“Um, but h-he said…”

“I think we’re sticking around, actually”, Cissnei said, giving Zack a cheeky look. “Better not make a fuss about it.”

“Hey Zack, do you want us to make a fuss?” Cher butted in. Zack quickly shook his head. No need to make the situation any worse than it already was. He had a feeling Sephiroth would yell at him for recklessly endangering his soldiers, and – even worse – Cloud would flay him for letting Tifa get hurt.

“It’s fine, I’m just… gonna check if anyone’s home.” Zack swallowed nervously as he rang the doorbell. Maybe he was worrying over nothing. Maybe Aerith had made it home somehow. Maybe everything was going to be back to normal.

Unfortunately, the door opened, and things weren’t that simple.

“Who are you?” Elmyra asked, watching Zack warily. Zack took a deep breath. He had to try to stay cheerful. Now that Sephiroth wasn’t here, he was practically the SOLDIER poster child, after all. He had to give a good impression. So he offered Elmyra his most charismatic smile, hoping it’d be enough.

“Hi! Elmyra Gainsborough, right? Is Aerith home?” This wasn’t how he’d planned to meet his girlfriend’s mom at all. But hey, he was showing up with an entire squad to rescue Aerith, at least that was something, right? Elmyra squinted at him and took a look at his ragtag team of brave warriors, not seeming very impressed.

“You with Shinra?”

“Well, yeah, but…” Zack bit his lip. Yeah, maybe showing up in Shinra uniforms for this hadn’t been the best idea… “Sorry, I should introduce myself. I’m Zack Fair. SOLDIER 1st Class. Aerith’s boyfriend.”

“…Is that so?” And now she was looking _even_ less impressed. Way to go, Zack. “Aerith hasn’t been home since yesterday. I thought she might be out seeing you, but…”

“I think something… possibly might’ve happened to her”, Zack said, not wanting to alarm her too much but feeling too guilty to leave her in the dark. “Gonna go to the church to check as well, but…”

“I’ll come with you”, she said without hesitation, stepping out through the door and immediately marching off in the direction of the church without waiting for anyone else. Zack followed her without arguing; he wouldn’t have been able to stop her anyway. The others followed as well, and glancing over at Cissnei, Zack noted that she didn’t look nearly as surprised by this development as she should’ve.

“You knew that something happened to Aerith, didn’t you?” Zack asked Cissnei, unable to quite keep the bewildered tone from his voice. “That’s why you stuck around.” She sighed in response.

“Zack, I’m a _Turk_. Knowing things is my job.” She turned her head away, refusing to meet his gaze, looking a bit uncomfortable. “But yes, I was called back to Midgar by Tseng for that reason, so I did know. I just wasn’t sure if _you_ did, when you didn’t say anything. You’re not exactly the type to stay quiet about things.”

There wasn’t much Zack could say to that. He could’ve asked Cissnei how much she knew exactly, but was much too nervous to focus on anything except getting to the church and hopefully finding some clues about what exactly had happened. They all walked at a brusque pace in a tense silence until they reached the church, and Zack wasted absolutely no time in rushing past the others – even Elmyra had to step aside – and tearing the church door open.

“About time you showed up”, Tseng said. He was crouched down on the floor next to the flowerbed, his head wrapped up in bandages. Within the seconds Zack spent trying to decide if he simply wanted to yell at Tseng or actually run up and punch him in the face, Elmyra had already made the decision for him. She marched right up to Tseng, grabbing Aerith’s staff from where it had been lying on the floor in the middle of the aisle – it was here and not with her, shit – and whacked Tseng with it.

“Where’s my daughter, Turk?!” When he responded only with a pained grunt, she whacked him again. “Did you take her?! I thought you’d agreed to leave her alone!”

“It wasn’t us!” Cissnei quickly rushed in, tearing the staff from Elmyra’s hands. “The Shinra Company had nothing to do with this!”

“Then who was it?” Elmyra tore the staff back, and while it was kind of entertaining to watch, Zack decided that it was his turn to step in. He hurried up to them and stepped in between Elmyra and the Turks to avoid further clashes.

“Tseng, you were there with her! What happened?” 

“It’s really none of your business”, Tseng declared, getting to his feet and brushing dust off his knees. “We’ll locate Aerith, no need to concern yourself. Cissnei, let’s go…”

“Actually, you’re not going anywhere”, Tifa said. Zack turned to look over his shoulder and found her, Dick and Cher blocking the church doors. Tifa was putting a pair of gloves on, looking totally ready to get into a fight, while Dick and Cher were readying their guns. Poor Elena looked like she was about to pass out. Zack couldn’t really blame her.

“I thought I told you guys not to make a fuss…” At least they had the decency to look a bit sheepish about it. “Seriously though, just tell us what happened and then you can be on your merry way”, Zack told Tseng firmly. “Mrs Gainsborough deserves to know what happened to her daughter”, he added. While Elmyra had seemed angry just a moment ago, her anger had clearly quickly shifted into concern. Zack noticed that she was staring downwards and followed her gaze to spot Aerith’s broken phone on the floor.

Zack had been worried that it might be the Company using Aerith as leverage against him, but the Turks didn’t seem aware of Aerith’s whereabouts, or what had gone down in Nibelheim for that matter, at least not yet… He realised now that he didn’t see any signs of the Angeal copy either. If it hadn’t been Shinra, that only left one real option, and the Angeal copy going missing supported his theory.

“It was Genesis, wasn’t it?” he asked, and the guilt evident in Cissnei’s face along with the brief shock Tseng quickly replaced with a neutral expression told him enough.

“…I tried to stop him, but I couldn’t put up a fight against a SOLDIER”, Tseng admitted, at least having the decency to look ashamed of himself.

Zack had told himself he was going to be professional about this, but that lump in his throat was telling him he wasn’t doing a very good job. Finding out what had happened to Aerith had been supposed to ease his mind, not make him freak out even more…! He sank onto his knees, staring at her flowers while wondering why Genesis had chosen to target _her_ , of all people. There were so many things he wanted to say – to scream – but only one word left his mouth.

“…Fuck.”

He really hoped Aerith was hanging in there, wherever Genesis had dragged her off to, because he wasn’t sure if he was.


	9. Cloud

_so, um… got back to midgar and found out aerith’s been kidnapped by genesis_

Cloud stared at his phone, not sure how to process what he was reading. No way. This had to be a mistake of some sort, this wasn’t allowed! Sephiroth peered over his shoulder, and within a second he had snatched the phone out of Cloud’s hands.

“Hey!” Cloud stood on his tiptoes and tried to take the phone back, but Sephiroth kept the phone firmly held to his ear for about half a minute, before letting out a frustrated sigh and handing it back to Cloud. “Not answering?” Sephiroth shook his head, and Cloud groaned. “Wonderful.” He quickly typed back a reply.

_shit. keep me updated._

“I think I’m gonna go for a walk”, he declared and headed down the stairs. He desperately needed fresh air. Sephiroth followed him along, but Cloud stopped halfway through the kitchen. He wasn’t sure how to say it. “Sorry, this is a bit much. I just kinda… need a moment alone.”

“Oh. All right.” Thankfully, Sephiroth didn’t seem offended, at least not visibly so. He didn’t show much of a reaction at all, actually; he simply ruffled Cloud’s hair, tilted down to press a kiss to his forehead and then headed back up the stairs. “I’ll… try to get in touch with Zack.”

“Did something happen?” Claudia asked as he passed her on his way towards the door.

“Can’t explain right now”, Cloud said and slipped out of the house before she had time to question him further. He slammed the door a bit harder than he’d intended, drawing a deep breath. Fresh air. Much better. Now, time for a walk.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get very far before Tifa’s dad, of all people, waltzed right over to him. He looked furious. Oh shit.

“Strife. Where’s my daughter?”

“I’m not her babysitter. I wouldn’t know”, Cloud said, keeping his tone nonchalant while starting to panic internally. First Aerith, now Tifa too?! Was Genesis such a spiteful bitch that he’d go out of his way to ruin Cloud’s life specifically?! While Cloud barely knew him, he wouldn’t put it past him…

“She left a letter in her room saying she was going with you!” Mr Lockhart exclaimed. “But you’re still here, so she must still be around somewhere! Don’t deny it!”

“Um”, Cloud said. Oh, so that was how it was. Zack could’ve said something… but given how Zack could be a bit of an airhead at the best of times and, you know, how his girlfriend had just been _fucking kidnapped_ , Cloud supposed he could excuse him. “The others… actually did leave Nibelheim already. It’s just me and Sephiroth here now. If she’s with them, they’re in Midgar already. I can’t help you.”

“Of course…” Mr Lockhart muttered something under his breath that Cloud didn’t catch. “You’re always causing trouble for her… She deserves so much better than you!”

“Can’t argue with that”, Cloud agreed, completely forgetting where Mr Lockhart’s assumption had come from for a moment, until he remembered there had actually been a time in his youth when he’d had feelings for Tifa. “Luckily for her, I’m already happily taken by someone who’d probably be very displeased to find out how you and the other adults in this town used to treat me when I was a kid, Mr Lockhart.”

“Are you… threatening me?” Mr Lockhart sounded like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Of course, he’d never known Cloud to have a backbone of any kind.

“Nah. Just saying that Sephiroth can be a bit of a loose cannon when provoked”, Cloud replied. Mr Lockhart was looking significantly paler now. Cloud offered him a cheerful grin before turning on his heel and heading away from him without any hesitation in his steps. It was so nice to not give a single shit about what people thought of him. He’d missed having enough of an intimidation factor to be able to threaten people.

…Okay, time for his _actual_ walk now. He had something he needed to do.

Cloud walked for a bit until he got to the outskirts of town, headed over to the Shinra mansion, laid down on his back on the lawn and screamed as hard as he could for at least a full minute.

“Are you trying to imitate a dragon’s mating call or is something actually wrong?” Vincent’s head appeared in his line of sight, peering down at him so suddenly that Cloud sat up, startled.

“Holy shit, don’t scare me like that!” He supposed he could tell Vincent about it, since he’d already told Vincent so much… Gods, it felt so relieving to be able to tell someone about all the shit that was happening… “Remember when I mentioned we were friends in the future? Well, there’s this girl… who was also our friend. And she’s in trouble.”

“You want to go help her?” Vincent asked.

“I mean… yeah. I’m not sure what I could do about it though.” Cloud kicked at the ground in frustration. He hated this feeling of helplessness; it had been hanging over him constantly since the time loops started and for just a bit, he’d had a taste of freedom. He wanted that back. “I’m not enhanced like Sephiroth or Zack… or even like you.”

“I wouldn’t wish that fate upon anyone”, Vincent said grimly.

“I know. Hojo experimented on me too, in the original timeline. Left me completely fucked up, but it was useful when we had to save the world…” Cloud bit his lip and looked up at Vincent. Would he be willing to get involved even when it didn’t have anything to do with Sephiroth? “Will you help us out?”

“I have a feeling you have something you could offer me in return”, Vincent said. “More information, perhaps?” Oh, he had _tons_ of that.

“I know where Lucrecia is”, Cloud said and was instantly hauled to his feet, claws digging into the front of his shirt. Shit. Vincent looked _pissed_. Cloud had never, not even once, seen that look on his face before.

“She’s alive?!”

“I mean, kind of, but…” Cloud squirmed, trying to get out of Vincent’s grip but failing rather miserably. “I didn’t know how to tell you, okay?! I didn’t want you to run off without talking to Sephiroth first, I’m sorry…!”

“That’s not what I meant! Why didn’t you _tell Sephiroth?!_ ” …Okay, Cloud had wanted them to bond, sure, but he hadn’t expected Vincent to get attached _that_ quickly!

“I didn’t know how to tell him either!” Cloud finally managed to slip out of Vincent’s grasp, taking a few steps back just to keep a safe distance in case Vincent decided he wasn’t done with him. “Do you think I know what I’m doing?! I’m making this shit up as I go!”

“Where is Lucrecia, then? Couldn’t you have brought him there to avoid all of this?”

“She’s sealed herself away inside in a crystal in a cave under a waterfall surrounded by a mountain range. She’s not dead but… I’m not sure how alive she is either. It’s not too far from here, actually. Not really the kind of place I could’ve brought him without raising suspicions. Both from Shinra… and Sephiroth himself.”

“Hmm…” Vincent was quiet for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully. “You think he’ll stop trusting you if you tell him the truth about everything?”

Cloud nodded, feeling like an idiot. Not that Sephiroth would ever believe his time travel bullshit in the first place… If Sephiroth ever found out how many things Cloud had been hiding from him, he’d be furious for sure. Would Sephiroth even be able to trust him again after that…?

“…He still deserves to see his mother”, Vincent murmured, thankfully choosing not to hound Cloud further about telling Sephiroth the truth. “I’ll work with you to help your friend, if you promise to take Sephiroth and me to see Lucrecia.”

“Sounds like a deal”, Cloud said. He did want to let Sephiroth meet Lucrecia, after all. “Thanks a lot, Vincent.”

“You should hardly thank me. None of this would be an issue if I hadn’t committed such a grievous sin…” Vincent replied, ominous as always, and turned on his heel to head into the mansion before Cloud could say anything. “Come speak to me if you need anything.”

Left with nothing else to do, Cloud wandered back home, trying to determine how to make his next move. He didn’t want to leave Sephiroth all alone in Nibelheim… Would it be a good idea to send Vincent out on his own to search for Aerith and Genesis? Maybe he could join up with Zack… Dammit, Cloud didn’t even have any idea where they should start looking! He checked his phone again and found a reply from Zack.

_the turks are looking for her too. might work with em for now_

_ok, just be careful…_

Cloud wasn’t sure how trustworthy the Turks were at this point. He wouldn’t have trusted them, but he was sure Zack knew what he was doing. Zack quickly texted back.

_oh right, i forgot to mention it, but tifa is with us too! she stowed away in the truck haha_

_yeah, i know. her dad found out and came after me. i think he wanted to kill me lol_

As he approached his home, he bumped into Claudia just as she stepped out the door. There was a concerned frown on her face, which of course made Cloud incredibly concerned as well.

“Oh, there you are!” she said, sounding relieved. “It’s Sephiroth, he’s…”

That was all the initiative Cloud needed to rush past her into the house, heart rapidly starting to race. Inside, he found Sephiroth, thankfully _not_ looking like he was about to murder anyone. He was, however, fully dressed in his battle gear – aww, Cloud would miss the ugly sweater – and loading a backpack full of items, which made it pretty clear to Cloud what was going on.

“…And where do you think you’re going?” Cloud asked, honestly kind of getting a kick out of watching Sephiroth freeze like a deer caught in the headlights.

“…he’s acting like he’s about to leave”, Claudia finished somewhat awkwardly.

“I assure you it’s nothing you need to worry about”, Sephiroth said. “Thank you very much for your hospitality, Mrs Strife, but I’m afraid I must be going…”

“Sephiroth”, Cloud said, using the same disappointed tone he would scold unruly Chocobos with back during his brief career as a Chocobo racer. Sephiroth at least had the decency to look embarrassed and left the backpack lying on the kitchen counter, stuffing one last piece of bread into it before turning to face Cloud.

“It’s my fault that Genesis went after Aerith. Naturally, I will have to take responsibility”, Sephiroth said. He seemed calm at first glance, but Cloud could tell that he was just pretending to be.

“How are his actions _your_ fault?” Technically, Cloud wondered if it wasn’t somehow his own fault, through some fucked up butterfly effect, because he was pretty sure this had never happened in the original timeline.

“I should have helped him”, Sephiroth said. “When he and Angeal deserted from Shinra, I should have gone with them to begin with…” He lowered his head, guilt slowly creeping into his expression. “I was a horrible friend.”

“I think Genesis is the one being horrible”, Cloud retorted. “He’s not exactly been very considerate… at least not during the times I’ve had the dubious pleasure of meeting him.” Better not mention his near-death experience in front of his mom. Maybe she could forgive him for one, but if she found out about the other he had a feeling he’d be grounded forever. And that wasn’t even getting into his _actual_ deaths…

“…I’m still leaving”, Sephiroth said and grabbed the backpack from the counter, walking brusquely past Cloud and Claudia towards the door. “I’m the only one strong enough to defeat Genesis. If we want to help Aerith, I have to go.” He opened the front door and walked right out.

“No, Sephiroth, wait!” Cloud hurried after him and noticed that Claudia was about to follow too. He shook his head at her, not wanting her to get involved in case things somehow ended up getting ugly. “Mom, stay out of this.” He closed the door behind him and leapt towards Sephiroth, catching him by the arm and clinging as hard as he could to keep him in place. “Zack can deal with this, and Vincent promised he’d help too! You need rest!”

“I’ve rested enough”, Sephiroth stated and easily tugged Cloud off his arm. “I can’t sit around doing nothing when Aerith is in danger.” Oh, wasn’t that just horribly ironic…?

“I had no idea you cared so much about Aerith. Should I be jealous?” Cloud joked, hoping it’d lighten the mood. Unfortunately, Sephiroth just glared at him in response.

“She’s my best friend’s girlfriend, and has been nothing but nice to me. Not to mention… I have some things I want to ask her. About the Ancients. And… Jenova.” He said her name bitterly. “How did you know she was an Ancient anyway?”

“She told me”, Cloud said, because technically that wasn’t a lie. Sephiroth remembered that uncomfortable conversation they’d had in the basement of the mansion, huh…? “I thought you… forgot about that.”

“I only remember bits and pieces”, Sephiroth muttered. “Regardless, I wish to speak to her, and if I can settle things with Genesis at the same time, I’ll happily do so.”

“You’re still sick!” Cloud insisted. “You should stay here for now and… ow!” He didn’t get to finish that sentence, because suddenly he found himself pushed and pinned against the wall, Sephiroth’s hands firmly clutching his shoulders. Well, at least Sephiroth hadn’t pushed him through the kitchen window…

“You will not order me around!” Sephiroth declared; oh shit, he actually looked angry now. Cloud tried to wriggle out of his grip and then to push him off, but even though the Mako sickness had left Sephiroth weaker, he was still way out of Cloud’s league.

“What the hell?!” Cloud was well aware that he had a far too short fuse when it came to Sephiroth, but it was kind of hard not to get angry when Sephiroth was being so stubborn! “Let me go! Why are you doing this?!”

“Because you keep trying to _control_ me!” Sephiroth snapped. “I’m a grown man, Cloud! Stop treating me like a child!”

“Maybe when you stop acting like one!” Cloud yelled and kicked Sephiroth in the ankle. It had absolutely no effect. Sephiroth’s grip on him only got tighter, tight enough that it was starting to hurt.

“You’re the one acting like a child here!” Sephiroth retorted. Cloud managed to reach one hand out far enough to get a grip on Sephiroth’s bangs, and tugged hard enough to make Sephiroth hiss. “Is it really so hard for you to understand that…”

Unable to really come up with any more cheeky retorts and simply wanting to shut him up, Cloud pulled Sephiroth closer and smacked their lips together hard. Sephiroth groaned, and for a moment Cloud thought he was going to pull away, but instead Sephiroth responded with equal fervour, biting down on Cloud’s lip hard enough to draw blood. Okay. Okay, sure, this was happening now. Cloud hooked a leg around Sephiroth and pulled his hair harder.

The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped them both out of it, and in unison, they both turned their heads to find Claudia standing in the doorway, looking incredibly unimpressed.

“Are you done making a scene?” she asked. Cloud suddenly became acutely aware of several townsfolk standing in the street, definitely staring their way. “Boys will be boys, I suppose…” Claudia shook her head in dismay, then went back inside. Cloud and Sephiroth turned back to stare at each other for a couple of seconds, not entirely sure where to go from here, until Sephiroth finally let go of Cloud and took a step back.

“There’s nothing to see here. Move along.” He addressed their spectators as if they were his subordinates, and it definitely had the intended effect; they hurried along immediately.

“Okay, um…” Cloud honestly wasn’t sure how to even continue their argument after that.

“…I’m sorry.” Sephiroth turned his head away in shame, doing his usual thing of hiding his face behind his hair. “I didn’t mean to pick a fight, really…”

“What were you gonna say? Before I…”

“Before you tried to turn the argument into a make-out?” Sephiroth snorted, but still remained tense and didn’t look Cloud’s way. “…Is it really so hard for you to understand that all this coddling makes me uncomfortable?” He sounded reluctant to admit it. “I appreciate the concern, but… it makes me feel like you’re taking away my autonomy. Like I’m not human enough to make my own decisions.”

“…Oh.” Cloud had never felt so absolutely awful so suddenly. “…I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise…!”

“It’s all right. It’s not your fault that I’m bad at explaining myself.”

“I think you’re doing pretty good right now”, Cloud said and stepped closer to take Sephiroth’s hand. “As long as we don’t count the angry make-out.”

“Hey, that one’s on you”, Sephiroth said, but at least he was smiling now. It made Cloud feel a little bit less like a garbage person. Sephiroth finally turned to look him in the eye. “I’ll ask nicely this time. Please, Cloud, can we go help Aerith?”

“Hmm.” It was hard to say no at this point, but Cloud still couldn’t resist putting up an act of thinking deeply about it. “If we can invite her and Zack for a foursome afterwards, sure”, he joked. Sephiroth simply offered him a cryptic smile in return. “Hey. The fuck does that mean?”

“You’ll find out when we’ve found Aerith…”

“You’re kidding, right? I was kidding.”

Fighting Sephiroth, whether it was a lovers’ quarrel or a battle to the death, was just a never-changing constant in Cloud’s life. Somehow, the familiarity of it was almost comforting, and the fact that they’d actually managed to solve this conflict without any major injuries was definitely an improvement.


	10. Sephiroth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am with an extra long chapter to fill the void that the Remake being delayed has left with us all... :')

His and Cloud’s argument had left him feeling a lot more tired than it should have, but Sephiroth had absolutely no intention of letting that slow him down. Cloud had set out to fix up what he referred to as ‘the only truck in town’ – Sephiroth wasn’t sure if it should even be called a truck and not a hunk of scrap metal – while telling Sephiroth to go get Vincent.

Finding Vincent proved no more difficult than it had been last time; as soon as Sephiroth stepped into the Shinra mansion, he found Vincent perched at the top of the stairs, tinkering with his gun.

“Cloud and I intend to leave Nibelheim now”, he informed Vincent. “Cloud said you’d be willing to help us save our friend.” Vincent nodded, and when Sephiroth turned to leave, he heard footsteps following.

They walked in silence all the way back into town. Sephiroth still had many things he wanted to ask Vincent – about Lucrecia, about Hojo, about Vincent himself – but found himself unable to. He didn’t want to lose his temper and start yelling at Vincent again, and he didn’t need any more insistence from Vincent that Hojo was… Gods, he felt sick just thinking about it.

“Are you all right?” Vincent asked, suddenly breaking the silence. “You look tired. Are you sure you’ve recovered enough to travel?”

“I’ve had to do much more strenuous activities than travelling after similar experiences in the labs before”, Sephiroth said, expecting that would be enough to make Vincent understand that there was no need to worry. Instead, a clawed hand was placed on his arm to stop him in his tracks. When he turned to look at Vincent, the turmoil was for once easy to see on his usually unreadable face.

“I should have tried harder to stop them.”

“It had nothing to do with you”, Sephiroth said. “You… said so yourself. If you’re not my father, you had no reason to…”

“That’s hardly relevant”, Vincent cut him off. “It should have been plain for anyone to see that the way they treated you was cruel and inhumane. Any responsible adult would have interfered.” He paused, looking straight into Sephiroth’s eyes. “And you’re still Lucrecia’s son. As her bodyguard, keeping you safe should have been my first priority.”

Sephiroth didn’t know what to say. People didn’t usually act so concerned about his well-being; these past few weeks, starting with his introduction to Cloud and culminating in this disaster of a mission, had been life-changing to say the least… He hated how vulnerable it made him feel. Yet at the same time, he found himself wondering, more desperately than he’d have liked to admit, what his life would have been like if Vincent had been there.

“I’m not a child anymore. I don’t need to be protected”, he said, wondering why the words rang so oddly hollow.

“Cloud seems to think otherwise”, Vincent said and wandered off without any attempt to end the conversation in a natural way. Sephiroth sighed and followed, wondering when Cloud had managed to convert Vincent to his cause of getting far too involved with Sephiroth’s life in such a short amount of time. He would probably have been concerned if he hadn’t been certain that Cloud’s heart was in the right place.

Somehow, Cloud had managed to get the ancient truck working. Sephiroth would never have guessed that he’d turn out to be such an adept mechanic. Cloud looked so tiny and frail that any sort of physical labour should leave him exhausted. When he voiced this thought to Cloud, he got a huff in response.

“Hey, that’s so rude! I bet you’ve never even changed a tire, city boy.” He crossed his arms and pouted at Sephiroth. “You expect so little from me! You reacted the same way when you found out I was a decent fighter! It’s like you only keep me around because I’m cute…”

“Did I ever imply otherwise?” Sephiroth asked, unable to resist the temptation to make a cheeky retort.

“You’re such a jerk!” Cloud groaned. “Now you’re gonna have to earn my forgiveness…” He tilted his head to the side under the pretence of thinking deeply about it. “Hmm… I think you should buy me a motorcycle.”

“A motorcycle?” Sephiroth questioned. That had come completely out of nowhere. “Do you even have a license?”

“You didn’t even ask when you let me drive the truck all the way from Costa del Sol to Nibelheim”, Cloud pointed out. “Just like you’re not gonna ask this time either, because I either drive or I puke all over you. Your choice.”

“You drive a hard bargain… The driver’s seat is all yours. We’ll see about the motorcycle…” Honestly, Sephiroth had no problem with letting Cloud drive in the first place. He’d proven to be a decent driver, regardless of whether he had a license or not, and Sephiroth was in no place to complain, as he didn’t have one either… except for the very convincing fake Genesis had managed to arrange for him somehow after his fifth failed attempt to get one, but that was beside the point.

“I was joking about the motorcycle, you know…”

“Leaving already?” Claudia came running towards them, only stopping to squint suspiciously at their vehicle. “Oh. Are you _really_ sure this is a good idea?”

“It’s fine, mom! I can drive”, Cloud said. Claudia sighed, but stepped forward to pull Cloud into a hug, which Cloud eagerly returned. Sephiroth watched them, trying to ignore the odd feeling caught in his throat.

“Little brat… Come back to visit soon, okay?” And then she swept over to Sephiroth and… ah. He probably should’ve expected this. “You too, sweetheart. Take care of yourself.” Sephiroth didn’t really know what to do with his hands, having been too caught off guard by the hug, so he ended up awkwardly placing them on her shoulders until she’d finished hugging him.

“I’ll… try my best, Mrs Strife, um, Claudia.” He kept forgetting about that… Claudia smiled as she stepped back, and as she turned towards Vincent, Sephiroth wondered if she was going to try to hug him too, but she didn’t. Instead, she simply gave him a serious look.

“Please look after my boys for me, Vincent.” Her boys. Plural. She counted him as well…? Suddenly, Sephiroth wished he could stay in Nibelheim for a little bit longer.

“No worries, ma’am.” Vincent saluted, lips briefly curling into the barest hints of a smile.

For a few hours, everything went smoothly. The truck worked just fine to get them out of town and onto the plains south of Nibelheim. Sephiroth wasn’t sure why Cloud wasn’t taking the shortest road to Costa del Sol through the mountains, but when the truck suddenly gave up and came to a halt, he was rather relieved they hadn’t been up on some tiny mountain road with dragons lurking behind every corner. Cloud didn’t take it nearly as well, swearing as he stumbled out of the truck to have a look at the engine.

“Damn thing’s busted”, he declared after a thorough inspection. “We’re gonna have to walk…”

“At least it isn’t raining”, Vincent said, glancing up at the clear sky. “Where are we headed?”

“Guess we’ll head east, for the mountains”, Cloud said, not sounding too pleased. “No point in going back to Nibelheim anymore…” He turned to Sephiroth, looking a bit worried. “You gonna be okay walking?”

“Of course”, Sephiroth said, trying to hide how frustrated the question made him feel. He’d been through so much worse than this. Cloud didn’t look convinced, but shrugged and went to get their supply bags anyway.

They walked for what must have been hours as the sun slowly began to set. As Vincent had pointed out, the weather was nice, and they ended up walking mostly in comfortable silence, without any unnecessary small talk. They didn’t even encounter any monsters or other threats, so it was a lot more relaxing than most of the treks through the wilderness Sephiroth had experienced, even with the underlying stress of needing to find Aerith and Genesis.

By the time they were approaching the mountain range, it was already getting dark and cold, and Sephiroth’s legs were starting to feel heavy. He’d been walking behind Vincent and Cloud for the entire time, and slowly but surely, he found himself trailing further and further behind. There was no need to complain, though; he could still walk, after all…

He’d been tired all day, but he hadn’t even noticed that his exhaustion had been getting worse until his vision started blurring and his head started spinning. He closed his eyes and stopped to catch his breath; it was all right, he’d been through so much worse than this… Okay, maybe it wasn’t _completely_ fine; his legs were suddenly completely refusing to cooperate, but if he just sat down for a bit, he’d be able to keep going…

“Sephiroth?” Cloud’s voice made Sephiroth want to open his eyes, but his eyelids were far too heavy. The world started tilting, and then he was lying on his side on the ground. Oh. This was fine. A bit cold and damp, but he wasn’t about to complain… “Sephiroth?! You okay?!” Cloud’s voice only grew more urgent, and Sephiroth was hauled back up onto his knees. Finally managing to force his eyes open, Sephiroth saw Cloud’s worried face coming into view.

“Just need… to rest for a bit…” Forming words was too much effort. He felt himself tilting forward and pressed his head against Cloud’s shoulder, closing his eyes again. Cloud would probably be mad at him for not saying anything… “I’m sorry…”

“I think we need to stop for the night, Vincent.” Cloud didn’t sound angry at all; he pressed a kiss to Sephiroth’s temple and started petting his hair. Sephiroth practically melted against Cloud, too exhausted to have any reservations. “You dumbass, why didn’t you just say you were getting tired?” Though Cloud’s words were harsh, the fond tone he used told another story entirely. “Oh shit, hey, don’t pass out on me now…”

Sephiroth didn’t hear anything more after that. The next time he became even slightly aware of his surroundings, his head was in someone’s lap as that someone – Cloud? – ran fingers through his hair. There was something warm and comfortable wrapped around him; it felt like a blanket, but he couldn’t recall them bringing one… He could hear Vincent saying something, but couldn’t quite make it out over the sound of a crackling campfire.

“I still don’t think I could tell him”, he heard Cloud say from right above him. “It’s better this way…”

“Cloud…?” Sephiroth managed to croak out, causing Cloud to jolt slightly. They must’ve wasted so much time with this; they needed to continue. He tried to sit up, only to get tugged back down by Cloud. Sephiroth cracked his eyes open and found Cloud staring down at him.

“Oh no, you’re not going anywhere. Not after passing out like that. We’ll stay here tonight. Travelling up into the mountains at night is probably a bad idea anyway…”

“I have no need for sleep, so I can keep watch”, Vincent said. “You should try to get some rest as well, Cloud.”

“Yeah…” Cloud yawned. “Sounds like a good idea. Thanks, Vincent.” He shifted Sephiroth out of his lap, allowing Sephiroth to get a closer look at their surroundings. They were in a small cave of some sort, more like a hole in the cliffside than anything else. There was enough space for the three of them to fit comfortably around the campfire, but not for much else.

“How are you feeling now, Sephiroth?” Vincent asked, shifting closer so that Sephiroth could see him properly. He wasn’t wearing his red cloak; it made him look much less imposing than usual… and it made Sephiroth realise that the cosy blanket wasn’t a blanket at all.

“…Very tired”, he admitted, wanting very much to crawl under Vincent’s cloak and hide so that Vincent wouldn’t be able to look at him like that. He didn’t need pity…

“Then sleep”, Vincent simply said, expression unreadable as always.

“Hey. Let me in.” Cloud somehow managed to worm his way in under the cloak to join Sephiroth, snuggling up next to him. He placed his hand on Sephiroth’s cheeks and leant in to kiss him softly. “There we go. Get some rest now so we can keep going tomorrow without any more incidents.”

Sephiroth was in no state to protest, really, and Cloud was so comfortably warm next to him that he didn’t have it in him to try to move. He drifted off to sleep easily, finally managing to relax with Cloud’s arms wrapped around him.

The next time he woke up, it was to the cocking of a gun. He sat up on autopilot and found Vincent peeking out through the cave entrance, weapon ready in his hand. Vincent glanced back over his shoulder to look at Sephiroth, and even without speaking, Sephiroth already knew they weren’t alone. He elbowed Cloud, getting a groan in response.

“What…?” Cloud began as he sat up, and Sephiroth immediately clamped his hand over Cloud’s mouth to keep him quiet. He watched realisation light up in Cloud’s eyes, and they both turned to Vincent, who slipped out of the cave in complete silence.

They waited. Sephiroth wondered if he should go out there too and try to help Vincent, but Cloud was clinging to his arm and he wasn’t sure he could make it outside without making too much noise. Surely Vincent would call for help if he needed it. He seemed tough enough to handle himself; it was probably better for Sephiroth to stay here and make sure Cloud was safe…

A high-pitched shriek instantly jerked him back into high alert. He felt Cloud tense up next to him, so he tried to calm him by placing a hand on his back. How should they respond? His mind was racing, trying to come up with strategies…

“Vincent?” Cloud called, untangling himself from the cloak and getting to his feet, boldly marching over to the cave entrance. It was reckless at first glance, but Sephiroth noticed him reaching for the Materia slotted into the bracelet on his wrist. “Vincent, is everything all right?”

“Yes”, Vincent’s voice echoed from outside the cave. “We simply have an uninvited guest.”

“Hey, let me go, weird vampire guy! Let me go, I said!” That voice… It had sounded like…

“A child?” Sephiroth exclaimed in disbelief. Vincent appeared back into his line of sight, dragging a struggling little girl along. Sephiroth guessed she was probably around ten years old. What was a child doing out here all alone…?

“Seriously, I wasn’t gonna do anything!” the girl yelled. “I wasn’t gonna steal your Materia or anything… Ow!” As Vincent dragged her into the light, Sephiroth’s first thought was that she looked like she was from Wutai. How in the world had someone so young made it here all the way from Wutai? But then, he recognised her.

“Yuffie?!” Cloud yelped. He was right, though Sephiroth was surprised that Cloud was that politically aware; the girl before them was indeed the daughter of Godo Kisaragi, leader of the nation Sephiroth had brought to its knees.

“Oh, you’ve heard of me?” Yuffie’s face instantly lit up in a grin. “Yes! I’m the great treasure hunter Yuffie! Who’re you, Chocobo-head?” As she scrutinised Cloud, her eyes lit up and her grin grew wider. “Ooh, is that Materia I see? Can I have a look?”

“The name’s Cloud, and the answer’s no. If I let you, you’re gonna steal it”, Cloud retorted.

“I’m not a thief! I’m a treasure hunter!” She wriggled her way of Vincent’s grip, stomping her foot against the ground in frustration. “What’re you guys doing out here anyway?” Somehow, she hadn’t even noticed Sephiroth until now. It was easy to see that she’d finally laid eyes on him, as her face instantly twisted into a frightened, furious grimace. “What… _you_!”

“You know each other?” Vincent asked.

“ _Know_ each other?!” Yuffie was shaking now, but Sephiroth couldn’t tell if it was from anger or fear. Probably both. “Who _doesn’t_ know him?! He’s… he’s the demon who ruined Wutai!”

“Shinra were the ones who ruined Wutai”, Cloud said before Sephiroth could say a thing. “Sephiroth was only following orders.”

“Don’t defend me, Cloud”, Sephiroth said. He couldn’t believe Cloud would try to excuse the atrocities he’d committed. It wasn’t easy to look at Yuffie, because what was he supposed to say? The truth? What else was there? “It’s true. I did ruin Wutai. I killed many of your soldiers. I’m the reason Wutai is now under Shinra’s control.” 

“Hey, stop digging your own grave!” Cloud said, sounding exasperated. “Yuffie. How old are you now? Ten?”

“I’ll have you know I’m almost eleven!” She was still glaring daggers at Sephiroth.

“Well… Sephiroth wasn’t much older than you when they first sent him to war, did you know that? He was just a kid too. A scared kid who was only doing what he was told because there was nothing else he could do.” What was Cloud trying to achieve? It wasn’t like anything he said could change what had happened… Yet, the angry look in Yuffie’s eyes died down just a little.

“That’s… really awful.” She gave Sephiroth an uncertain look, and then shook her head with a frown. “But I’m not gonna forgive you! You’re still a Shinra lapdog!”

“Not saying you have to forgive him or anything, but we’re actually not with Shinra anymore. We’ve quit”, Cloud said.

“Oh?” Now, Yuffie was starting to look curious more than anything else. “So do you guys… wanna take ‘em down, then?”

Sephiroth hadn’t thought that far. Helping Aerith and dealing with Genesis was his only focus right now. Did he want to take Shinra down completely? They had caused a lot of misery, but at the same time, they allowed people to live comfortably by providing them with Mako energy. It was a complicated issue…

“Yeah”, Cloud said without hesitation. “They’ve got to go. The Planet’s not gonna survive if we keep using Mako as our main power source.”

“Aww yeah!” Yuffie grinned. “I think we’re gonna get along just fine, Chocobo-head!”

“Don’t call me that.”

Cloud had never really shown any inclination towards environmentalism or spoken about outright overthrowing Shinra before, not as far as Sephiroth knew. It made Sephiroth so suddenly aware how little he really knew about Cloud and his motives in comparison to how much Cloud seemed to know about him.

“What are we going to do about her?” Vincent asked. “We can’t just leave a child out here…”

“I’ll have you know I can take care of myself just fine!” Yuffie huffed. “But… if you guys are anti-Shinra, I’m gonna be generous and lend you my strength, for a price!” She turned to Sephiroth. “You’re Sephiroth, so I bet you’ve got tons of good Materia, right? Give me some and I’ll hate your guts a little bit less.”

He supposed he could do that; he had a lot of rare Materia, after all. It wasn’t too much of an issue to give away some. He removed his Comet Materia from his bracelet and handed it to Yuffie, who gasped in disbelief as she grabbed it.

“Seriously?! I didn’t think you’d actually do it…”

“It’s the least I can do for you. Consider it a peace offering.” Noticing the eager gleam in her eyes, he felt like he needed to warn her. “You probably shouldn’t try to use it, though. You’re very young and this is very powerful magic. You’ll overexert yourself.”

“I know this bonding is very heart-warming and all…” Cloud yawned. “…but I think it’s time to go back to sleep. Night.” He didn’t wait for anyone else to agree before coming back over to Sephiroth, lying down on the ground next to him, and wrapping himself back up in Vincent’s cloak. Yuffie shrugged, pocketed the Comet Materia and plopped down next to Vincent, who’d returned to his seat where he could keep watch.

The choice between staying awake and going back to sleep was easy to make. Sephiroth lay down next to Cloud and wrapped his arms around him, trying not to be overwhelmed by these new developments.


	11. Zack

“Okay”, Zack said and sat down on Elmyra’s kitchen table, nearly knocking a teacup to the floor but thankfully managing to catch it before disaster struck. “Time to come up with a plan. What do we do now?”

“Who put you in charge?” Tseng questioned, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. Zack thought he was trying a bit too hard to look cool.

“Hey, I’m a SOLDIER 1st Class! I outrank you!”

“No, you don’t. We’re not even part of the same department. Neither of us outrank the other.”

“Does it really matter?” Cissnei retorted. “We all want Aerith back safe and sound. We’re not enemies. There’s no need to be hostile.”

It seemed like the Turks hadn’t been informed about what had happened in Nibelheim yet. To be fair, there was probably no one in Shinra right now who actually had a clear image of what exactly had gone down. Hell, Zack had been there, and he _still_ didn’t have a clue! If he was going to be working with the Turks on this, he really hoped the Turks wouldn’t find out. That could spell trouble.

“Where’s Sephiroth, anyway?” Tseng asked, as if he’d somehow read Zack’s mind. “Weren’t you two assigned to the same mission?”

“Well, uh…” Zack fumbled for an excuse, but didn’t have time to come up with one. Pity. It would have been a good one; he could feel it!

“He’s still in Nibelheim banging his boytoy”, Cher cut in. “That lucky bastard.” Dick tried to elbow him, but he danced out of the way, clearly having expected it. Well, okay. Zack supposed he could roll with that.

“Yeah. Sephiroth’s back in Nibelheim with his boyfriend”, he added. “He decided he needed a bit of a break…”

“I haven’t heard anything about this”, Tseng said, narrowing his eyes and giving Zack a very unconvinced look. “Did he not inform the Company that he was taking time off? That’s not like him at all. And since when does he have a…”

“C’mon, does that really matter right now?” Cissnei groaned. “Sephiroth can take care of himself. If he wants a honeymoon, we can let him have one.”

“Yeah! We need to save Aerith!” Zack added. That seemed to finally make Tseng falter.

“The problem is that we have no idea where to start looking. Genesis isn’t exactly very predictable, given his current… state of mind.”

“This Genesis fellow…” Elmyra had been so quiet that Zack had almost forgotten she was there up until now. “Is he dangerous?” She was so clearly concerned for her daughter, yet trying to put up a brave front…

“Don’t worry!” Zack told her. “I can kick his ass any day!” Unfortunately, she didn’t appear too convinced, instead opting to glare at him dubiously. “I mean it!” he insisted, hoping it came across more as genuine confidence rather than shallow bragging. “I’m really strong, I swear!”

“Banora!” Cissnei declared so loudly that it seemed to startle everyone to attention, even Tifa and Elena, who’d been quietly chatting in the corner. “I think that’s a good place to start! Maybe he’d hide out in his hometown?”

“Banora is in ruins”, Tseng said, frowning. “But I suppose… it’s better than nothing.”

“We should hurry”, Cissnei said and headed for the door, gesturing for everyone else to follow along. “Let’s get going. I’m sure Mrs Gainsborough would appreciate us getting to work rather than wasting time bickering in her house.” She turned to face Elena and Tifa, who were moving to follow as well. “Elena. You’re done for the day. You can go home.”

“What?” Elena pouted. “But… I want to come along!”

“Technically this is all confidential”, Tseng said. “You already know too much. Please leave now to avoid complications.” Elena sighed in dismay, shared a disappointed look with Tifa, and then hurried out the door. “We’ll take the helicopter. Zack, join us when you’re ready.” He and Cissnei both headed out the door after Elena.

“Confidential, huh…” Cher tilted his head, looking disappointed. “I’m thinking they don’t want our whole ensemble to come along, then.”

“Maybe we would be more useful here”, Dick said and turned to Zack. “What do you think? Split up? Anything we could do here in Midgar, boss?”

“Boss? I like that.” Zack flashed them a cheerful grin while trying to think of something. Two infantrymen were anonymous and discreet. Nobody would pay them much mind. “I guess you could just… keep me updated on what happens at Shinra. Especially regarding Hojo. You know, just in case he’s up to something.”

“Hojo?” Cher grimaced. “I don’t want him anywhere near any part of me!”

“I’m not telling you to! I’ve got this friend called Kunsel. He’s a SOLDIER 2nd Class and he keeps track of basically everything that goes on at Shinra. Get in touch with him and tell him I sent you. It’s important, so don’t screw it up!”

“Yes, sir!” Dick saluted, lips briefly twitching into a grin. “We better get promoted to SOLDIER for this.”

“I don’t think I wanna be in SOLDIER anymore”, Cher muttered as he and Dick headed out the door. “Man, I want a vacation…!”

“Zack, what am I supposed to do?” Tifa asked. “I can’t exactly go with them to Shinra, right? I know I’m not supposed to, but can I…” She gave him a hesitant look. “Can I come with you to this Banora place, or would they think I’m like… a threat or something? I promise I won’t get in the way…”

“I’ll look out for you! It’ll be fine!” Zack said. “I don’t think they’d see some kid from Nibelheim as a danger to Shinra.” Of course he could’ve left her behind, but he had a feeling she would just get herself into trouble, since she had nowhere to go. Not to mention it might be a good idea to bring one person who could fight for back-up in case things spiralled out of control with the Turks…

“Okay. Great!” Tifa beamed, and they headed for the door. As they left, Zack turned to meet Elmyra’s gaze.

“I’ll bring her back. I promise”, he told her, and she nodded in return.

“When you’ve found her, make sure to let her invite you over for dinner”, Elmyra replied. “I think it’s been a long time coming.” Zack nodded and offered her a smile before closing the door behind him. Cissnei and Tseng were already getting into the helicopter, and Zack gestured for Tifa to follow along.

“Elena gave me her number”, Tifa said.

“Oh, you two were hitting it off, huh?” Zack couldn’t resist teasing her, and she responded with a pout.

“Hey! She was just telling me how I could get a lot better at fighting if I joined the Shinra Military Academy!” But she was definitely turning a bit red there, and what she said next only confirmed Zack’s suspicions. “But I… I do kinda have a thing for blondes…”

“Blondes… I would never have guessed… Could it be that we you originally had your eyes set on another blonde we both know…? Ow!” Wow, she hit pretty hard for an unenhanced 15-year-old…

“New girl coming along as well?” Cissnei questioned as they reached the helicopter. “This is a really important mission, you know…”

“She can hold her own in a fight. Don’t worry”, Zack said, trying to ignore the pressure of Tseng’s suspicious glare. “I’ve got to keep an eye on her, it’s… you know, important, confidential stuff…” Wow, excuses really weren’t his forte today.

“They want me for SOLDIER”, Tifa said smoothly. “I’m a local guide in Nibelheim. Zack saw me fight and thought I had potential. He’s not supposed to talk about it yet, but he’s going to mentor me if he thinks I perform well in the field.”

“That doesn’t sound like…” Oh no, was Tseng _still_ about to argue? Zack took a deep breath, readying himself for some more banter, but thankfully it turned out to be unnecessary.

“Tseng! There’s no time!” Cissnei sighed. “Get in now, both of you. And welcome to Shinra, um…”

“Tifa.”

“Tifa”, Cissnei repeated. “We need more girls in the ranks. Gets exhausting hanging around so many guys all day. We’ll be happy to have you.” She winked at Tifa, who grinned back as she climbed into the helicopter.

Okay. Well, that had miraculously gone off without a hitch. At least _something_ was going his way… Zack wasted no time in getting into the helicopter as well, hoping that the trip to Banora wouldn’t take long, and that they’d find Aerith and Genesis before something terrible happened. He had a bad feeling in his gut about all of this.


	12. Aerith

“This is a bad idea”, Aerith said. Genesis, unfortunately, paid her no mind, and ended up getting kicked in the stomach and landed face-first on the ground while the Chocobo ran off towards the horizon.

“Well, I’d like to see you come up with a better idea!” Genesis huffed, getting back on his feet and brushing dirt off his knees. He had withdrawn his wing and given his bright coat to Aerith to guard, in hopes of not scaring the Chocobo, and he really looked a lot less imposing like this. If he hadn’t been such a jerk, Aerith would almost have felt sorry for him. “I’m in no shape to fly, we can’t cross the marshes on foot unless we want to be eaten by the Zolom, and I refuse to go back to Midgar!”

“You need to be more careful with Chocobos! I’ve heard they’re very hard to catch if you don’t have food to lure them with!” Aerith said. The wind was picking up and it was getting cold, so she put Genesis’s coat on. The sleeves were far too long for her, but at least she didn’t have to freeze anymore.

“What do _you_ know about Chocobos? Do you have those in the Slums?”

“Well, no, but…!”

“That’s right! Let me handle this! There are more over there!” Genesis shouted and stomped off towards a herd of Chocobos grazing further away on the plains. Aerith sighed and slowly wandered after him, making sure to keep a bit of a distance to avoid being forced to listen to his rambling.

Something rustled behind her, and before she could turn around to check what it was, she felt feathers brush against her leg. A very familiar creature came tumbling into view, almost stumbling over its own legs in its hurry to catch up. Aerith couldn’t help the gasp that slipped from her mouth.

“Angie?!” she exclaimed, immediately leaning down to scratch behind the Angeal copy’s ears. “Aww, did you come all this way to look after me?” She couldn’t believe he’d followed them all the way out here… Angie barked and nuzzled her hand before bounding after Genesis so quickly that she had to break into a run to keep up. She was glad she’d decided to wear boots rather than sandals today…

She caught up with Angie just in time as he leapt onto Genesis’s back and tackled him to the ground. At first, she thought Angie was attacking Genesis to protect her and expected she would be forced to pick a side in the conflict of man versus monster, but Genesis’s surprised yelp quickly turned into laughter. Aerith watched in shock as Angie nuzzled Genesis’s face and licked him with all the enthusiasm of a dog being reunited with its beloved owner while Genesis tried to sit back up, holding back laughs. It was strange to see him grinning so completely without restraint…

“Is he your pet?” she asked, trying to ignore the small fraction of disappointment she felt. _Come on, Aerith, get over it! Angie isn’t your pet, he’s a copy of a dead SOLDIER 1st…_ Oh. Oh, now it made sense, actually. “…You knew Angeal, right?”

The moment she said Angeal’s name, Genesis seemed to sober up. The smile faded from his face as he pried Angie off his chest, getting back up as Angie whined and scurried back to Aerith, ducking in behind her as if trying to hide.

“…Let’s just catch a Chocobo and get going”, he muttered and headed for the Chocobo herd once again. Okay. Touchy subject.

Finally, after way too many attempts, they managed to catch themselves a Chocobo each, mostly because Aerith finally took pity on Genesis and decided to help him whether he liked it or not. The Chocobos seemed naturally inclined to like her – Genesis blamed it on her being a Cetra – and so, they were at last able to get going.

“Where are we headed?” Aerith asked as they finally set off, at a slow pace so that she could get used to riding a Chocobo for the first time. Angie trotted after them, keeping up with them even as the Chocobos gave him wary looks.

“Over the marshes. Not even a Zolom can catch up to a Chocobo.”

“No, I meant… where were you taking me in the first place?” Aerith asked. Even though he’d revealed his motives, she still had no idea where they were going.

“Admittedly, I hadn’t really thought that far”, Genesis sighed. “I need you to find a way to heal my degradation. That’s as far as I had planned.”

Zack had mentioned the degradation before. When Aerith looked at him, she could tell that he was very sick. Dying, even. Slowly, but certainly. From what Zack had explained to her, his entire situation right now was the result of an unfortunate accident. Even though he’d been a complete jerk, it was hard for her not to feel sorry for him. Not that she knew how to help him anyway… They rode in silence for a while.

“So you’ve heard of Angeal?” Genesis asked suddenly. “Girls your age tend to fancy Sephiroth more.” He began to grin. “Or perhaps… yours truly?”

“Oh, don’t flatter yourself!” Aerith retorted. “Zack told me about you, actually.”

“…Zack.” Genesis’s eyes narrowed, and he gave Aerith a clearly confused look. “Zack Fair? You know him?”

“Well, I should hope so, given how we’ve been dating for over a year.” She would’ve expected Genesis to be aware of such a mundane aspect of her life, given how he’d somehow managed to come upon her deepest secret.

“Dating?” Genesis raised an eyebrow. “Now that’s an interesting coincidence…” He was quiet for a moment, turning his head away from Aerith. “Angeal and I knew each other from childhood. We did everything together…” He paused, a melancholy expression drifting across his face as he watched Angie trailing them. “If you’re Zack’s girlfriend, I suppose you’re already aware of what happened to him.”

“I am”, Aerith admitted. She’d never seen Zack so completely heartbroken over something, neither before nor since. “…I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want to die”, Genesis whispered. “I can feel myself deteriorating, physically and mentally. The only thing on my mind is finding a cure. Sephiroth wouldn’t help me, so you’re my last chance. My friend, the fates are cruel…”

“Sephiroth wouldn’t help you?” Aerith asked.

“He’s still a Shinra lapdog”, Genesis snapped. “A selfish, stuck-up bastard who cares more for some dumb brat he met recently rather than his old friends! He did _nothing_ to help me and Angeal!” Aerith didn’t like the look in his eyes at all; it was vicious, and she found herself genuinely unnerved by him for the first time. It didn’t make sense in her mind either; while she didn’t know him well at all, the Sephiroth she’d met had given her the impression of someone who appeared cold on the surface, yet cared deeply about his friends.

“I see”, she said, not really wanting to argue with him when he seemed so unstable. Better to change the subject. “Hey, I wanted to ask… how did you know I was a Cetra?”

“Would you believe me if I told you a voice whispered to me in my dreams to come find you?” Genesis let out a bitter laugh. “Perhaps I’m going mad… or perhaps it really was the Goddess herself, speaking to me.”

Aerith wasn’t sure whether she should be concerned or not. On one hand, hearing voices didn’t sound good, but on the other hand, she really didn’t have any right to call anyone else mad over something she experienced herself. Not that the Planet should be speaking to anyone who wasn’t a Cetra, especially someone she could so clearly feel that it hated…

Angie suddenly let out a howl and speeded past them, before stopping to wait for them to catch up, and then repeating the process.

“I think he wants us to follow”, Aerith said.

“How intriguing”, Genesis murmured. “There’s not much else for us to do right now, so follow we shall.” He clicked his tongue and got his Chocobo to speed up, and Aerith’s Chocobo followed along so suddenly that she nearly fell off.

“Hey! Wait up!”

It was strange. Even though the Chocobo had marginally increased her chances of a successful escape from Genesis, she wasn’t sure she even wanted to try. Even though he had done this completely against her will, he’d taken her away from the Midgar Slums and Shinra’s watchful eyes… Wind in her hair, desperately clinging to her Chocobo, Aerith found herself realising that this was possibly the closest to freedom she had ever come in her life, and suddenly going back to Midgar sounded less and less tempting.


	13. Sephiroth

“Okay, so let me get this straight: you two are dating, right? Right?”

“Yeah”, Sephiroth heard Cloud reply without too much enthusiasm. A part of Sephiroth was convinced Yuffie was somehow draining energy from Cloud to grow stronger. “Though I don’t know if I’d call that straight.”

“How’d a nerd like you manage to snag someone like _him_ anyway?” He wasn’t looking their way, but he had a feeling that if he turned around, he’d be able to see Yuffie glaring at him.

“Maybe I’ll tell you when you’re older. It’s not really a story appropriate for your age.”

“Man, why’d you have to go and say that?! Now I _really_ wanna know!”

“Are you doing better now?” Sephiroth hadn’t heard Vincent catch up to him. “Your walking speed seems to imply so.”

Sephiroth glanced over his shoulder and realised Yuffie and Cloud were further down the narrow mountain road they were following than he’d thought. He’d been so focused on going forward that he’d forgotten to pay attention to how far behind he’d left them. It definitely contrasted with last night, that was for certain.

“I feel better, yes”, he informed Vincent. “No need to be concerned.”

“I’ll be as concerned as I want to”, Vincent retorted. “You should get used to it.”

…Used to it? Did Vincent imply he was going to remain a constant in Sephiroth’s life? It made Sephiroth feel a lot of things that were oddly conflicting; he would be able to talk about his mother with someone who had known her… yet Vincent had been so firm in denying even the slightest possibility of being his father. It was confusing. Vincent shouldn’t have a reason to stay. In fact, shouldn’t he loathe Sephiroth, for being a constant reminder of the woman he’d loved and lost? Maybe it was obligation that kept him around…

“You’ll just have to get used to me telling you off for it, then”, he ended up retorting. Vincent raised an eyebrow and actually had the nerve to snort. That was probably the closest to a positive response he’d shown so far.

“As stubborn as your mother.” He sounded so genuinely fond when he said it, no doubt overcome by memories of her. Being stubborn wasn’t supposed to be a good thing.

“I simply don’t understand your motives”, Sephiroth said. He glanced back at Yuffie, who was still pestering Cloud. His and Cloud’s eyes met for a second, and Cloud flashed him a sheepish grin.

“I thought I’d been clear enough”, Vincent replied. “You’re Lucrecia’s son. That’s the only reason I need.”

“So I’m simply an obligation”, Sephiroth stated, trying not to let himself sound too bitter.

“I never said that…” Vincent stopped dead in his tracks, and from his sudden movements, Sephiroth could tell that it wasn’t because of their discussion. “I can feel the presence of something”, Vincent murmured, pulling out his gun from its holster as he stared upwards at the mountainside.

The booming roar that echoed down the mountains only seconds later had Sephiroth pulling Masamune out immediately. For a moment, he thought it might be a dragon, as it certainly had sounded like one, but quickly dismissed that thought. This was something else. Something more powerful.

Another roar echoed through the skies, and a creature, dragon-like but far too large to actually be a dragon, descended towards them. Sephiroth easily registered it as a Summon; some type of Bahamut, like the ones Genesis sometimes used, but not one he’d ever seen before.

“Holy shit!” he heard Cloud gasp from further down the road as Yuffie let out a startled scream. Sephiroth knew there was no time to hesitate, so he cast a Firaga at the Summon and leapt as high as he could into the air to draw its attention. It would be better for everyone if it focused on him rather than someone else, and if he fell, the river far down below them would break his fall.

It worked. Bahamut’s glowing red eyes were instantly drawn to Sephiroth, and it spat a large fireball at him, which he could easily deal with by blocking it with Masamune. He had its attention; what now? He didn’t currently carry any Summon Materia, so he would have to do this by himself. Using the cliffside as his stairway, Sephiroth managed to scale the heights to get closer to Bahamut as it perched on a mountaintop.

He’d beaten Summons before. It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. Yet, Sephiroth found himself with an odd feeling building in his chest as he launched himself at Bahamut while shooting off a Blizzaga towards it. As his spell collided with the fireballs his opponent continuously fired while leaping into the air towards him, it finally hit Sephiroth that the feeling was _fear_. Fear not only because he worried for the safety of the people around him, but also…

 _I don’t want to die._ Such an irrational thought for someone as powerful as him. Of course he wouldn’t die. This creature, while powerful, wasn’t going to be able to deal enough damage to him. Still, Sephiroth realised that he’d never been afraid of death before, because he’d never truly wanted to live either.

Bahamut’s roar forced him to once again focus on the battle. He swung himself forward and buried his sword in its snout, causing it to writhe in fury as its tail struck against the cliffside. The Comet Materia he’d given to Yuffie would’ve been rather useful right now, but since that wasn’t an option he gathered his energy to cast Flare instead, confident that it’d take the Summon out but worried it might inflict too much damage to their surroundings.

“Watch out!” he yelled, hoping the others would pay heed to his warning as he fired off the spell. The shockwave the Flare caused as it crashed into Bahamut sent him flying backwards, but he managed to spin himself around in the air with enough grace to land on a small rock protruding from the cliffside. Glancing upwards, he watched Bahamut dissolve, before turning his attention downwards, where he could see Cloud, Yuffie and Vincent. Cloud was yelling something, but he was too far down for even Sephiroth to hear him. Even so, Sephiroth found himself letting out a relieved laugh. He’d managed to protect them.

A rock fell from somewhere above his head and down into the rushing river far below. Alone, it wouldn’t have been much of a concern; however, it was accompanied by an unsettling rumbling sound. Sephiroth whipped his head up again and watched as more and more rocks started falling down. It was exactly like he’d feared. The battle had caused a rockslide.

The rock he was standing on was starting to loosen. Sephiroth was forced to consider his options; either he allowed himself to fall down into the river or he could try to do something to prevent what was happening. He looked down and couldn’t see the others and concluded they must have taken cover already; there had been a set of caverns along the path which would be safe enough. That left only him needing to get out of danger… The river would probably be the safest option…

Wait, why was he worried about this? He had a wing. He could, presumably, use it to fly, or at least to descend at a controlled pace while staying away from falling rocks. Sephiroth didn’t waste any more time; he leapt into the air, willing his wing to appear so that he’d be able to give himself the boost he needed.

Two things about this didn’t go according to plan. First, the wing didn’t appear, apparently having decided it was too good for Sephiroth’s fervent wishes. Second, there were a lot more rocks than he’d anticipated. He tried to manoeuvre his way around to use Masamune to protect himself, but before he could do anything, a large rock caught him by surprise as it struck him in the back, taking the breath out of him and causing him to drop Masamune. Gasping, Sephiroth resigned himself to his fate. He supposed bath-time was unavoidable now.

The water was cold, much colder than he’d expected. Not that he had much time to ponder the temperature, as he was far too busy trying to get back up to the surface while also keeping an eye out for Masamune. As he finally got his head above water again, Sephiroth realised he had severely underestimated nature’s forces. The water was rushing fast, far too fast for even an enhanced individual to be able to anything else than get swept away by the current, and he really wasn’t optimally dressed for this. While he considered himself a fairly decent swimmer, keeping his head above the surface was all he could do right now.

Even over the sound of rushing water, Sephiroth could hear a sound that grew more and more powerful, and he found himself suddenly remembering that this river led to a waterfall. Even so, there was nothing he could do; the current was too powerful for him to make it to shore, and his wing still refused to show itself. It took all his focus to not allow himself to panic; he had to find a way out of this, had to…!

Something warm brushed against his side. Without thinking, Sephiroth grabbed on to it and found himself gripping something that felt like fur. And then, he was falling, and lost that grip again.

This time when he crashed down into freezing water, Sephiroth wasn’t sure he had enough strength left to get back to shore. He was so tired, and cold all the way down to the bone… 

That warm something pushed against him again, this time from below until he reached the surface, and Sephiroth found himself heaving in deep breaths as it began to move beneath him. He blinked, trying to see past his blurry vision, only managing to decipher that it was some sort of monster. He clung to the purple fur as the creature swam towards the shore, trying to identify what it was. It looked a bit like a Behemoth… but no, it was too small.

He’d never been more relieved to have ground under his feet. Sephiroth crawled onto the riverbank and let out a groan before collapsing onto his back, trying to ignore his racing heart. The creature, whatever it was, let out a sound that sounded almost like a whine before sniffing Sephiroth’s hair and curling up next to him on the ground. Was it… trying to keep him warm? Sephiroth wasn’t about to complain. He heaved himself up to rest his head against the creature’s warm body, not particularly caring about the details. He ran a hand through its fur, marvelling at how soft it was. Again, the creature let out a whine and poked at Sephiroth with an enormous clawed paw.

“…I’m all right”, Sephiroth informed it, still out of breath. Clearly, it had some semblance of intelligence. Now, why had it saved him…?

As if on cue, the creature started shifting its form. Sephiroth found himself without support very suddenly and ended up with his head in a completely human lap as familiar red eyes peered down at him.

“…Vincent?” Maybe he was still drowning and was starting to hallucinate in his final moments.

“Yes…” Vincent hummed, helping Sephiroth up into a sitting position. Sephiroth noted that Vincent was completely soaked too. “I… may have panicked a little bit, when you fell, and the beast within decided that leaping after you was the best choice.”

“What… was that, exactly?”

“Ah. I forgot you weren’t aware of my… transformations.” Vincent sounded almost sheepish. “Hojo’s handiwork. I can control them to a degree, but… sometimes, when I let my emotions run rampant, they happen involuntarily, and I end up acting entirely on animal instinct. Comparable to a Limit Break, I suppose.”

“I see…” Sephiroth tried not to focus too much on the fact that Hojo had messed with yet another human being to this extent, and instead ended up focusing on what kind of instinct would prompt an animal to leap off a cliff. That was, until he remembered something more important. “…Cloud and Yuffie?”

“Safe”, Vincent said. “They managed to take cover from the rockslide. Though I imagine Cloud will be rather angry with us.” Sephiroth snorted. Vincent was right; Cloud would be furious. And probably terrified for Sephiroth’s sake too. Suddenly it didn’t seem so funny anymore.

“Masamune?” he questioned, only to find the sword already being placed next to him.

“Right here.” Vincent’s lips curled into a smirk. “Caught it with my tail.” His gaze remained firmly on Sephiroth as his face fell back into its usual, serious mask. “You could’ve been hurt.”

It sounded like a scolding. Sephiroth felt like he was supposed to hate it, like he’d always hated it when Hojo told him off as if he was a child, but instead, he remained distracted by the fact that Vincent had thrown himself into danger like that for his sake.

“Why do you care so much?” Sephiroth questioned. Instinct, Vincent had said. Sephiroth didn’t buy it. Instinct was supposed to put survival above all else. What could possibly make Vincent act like… like what, exactly?

Like a parent protecting its young. The moment it hit him, Sephiroth hated himself for allowing that thought to cross his mind. He had to stop pining for something that wasn’t there.

“You’re clearly well-versed in the art of shutting people out”, Vincent stated. “You’re sending me mixed messages. Be clear with me. If you truly don’t want anything to do with me, just tell me. Likewise, if you actually want me around, just say so.”

“I…” Sephiroth began, uncertain how to respond. He hadn’t expected a confrontation right now, and he didn’t know what he wanted! “I don’t know what you want from me either!” he snapped, frustrated at Vincent and at his own inability to express himself without lashing out like this. “One moment, you act like you care, and the next, you’re pushing me away!”

“I’m not trying to push you away”, Vincent said. “Whatever gave you that impression? I’m aware I can be a bit off-putting sometimes, but I assure you, that’s the opposite of what I’m trying to…” He paused, clearly trying to figure out what to say next, before letting out an exasperated sigh. “…You clearly inherited her communication issues as well.”

“I might as well have inherited them from you”, Sephiroth retorted before he could help himself, only to end up internally cursing himself once again for suggesting it.

“I’ve told you, I’m not…” Vincent fell silent again, his eyes widening so slightly that it was barely noticeable. “You… really wish I was your father. Even though you barely even know me.”

“ _Anyone_ would be better than Hojo!” Sephiroth snapped, taking his eyes off Vincent as he tried to ignore just how desperate this entire conversation made him feel. “Hojo is not my father. I refuse to accept it!”

Vincent’s arm brushed over Sephiroth’s back as his hand came to rest on Sephiroth’s shoulder. A part of Sephiroth wanted to shove him away, but instead, he found himself frozen.

“For what it’s worth…” Vincent’s voice was quiet. “…I’d also prefer it… if you were my son.”

Sephiroth almost forgot how to breathe. Suddenly, he really wanted, no, _needed_ to hug Vincent. He shifted closer, hesitating as he wondered if he really should give in to such childish desires, but then decided to simply go for it and threw his arms around Vincent, pressing his head down against Vincent’s shoulder. He felt Vincent freeze in response.

 _Please don’t push me away_ , he found himself pleading internally. The relief that flooded over him when Vincent’s hand settled on his back to pull him closer and claws brushed against his hair was overwhelming.

“We’re… on the same page, then.” Sephiroth hoped his voice didn’t sound as uncertain as he felt. Vincent hummed but didn’t say anything. “I want you to be my…”

“It doesn’t matter whether I’m your father or not”, Vincent cut him off. “Regardless, I want to make certain that you’re safe and that Shinra never harms you again.”

Sephiroth would have liked to argue that it did matter, because this was, quite possibly, the first time he’d known a parent’s embrace, after longing for it all his life. But perhaps, Sephiroth thought as Vincent tightened his grip on him, this hopeful uncertainty would have to be good enough.


	14. Cloud

Cloud tried to tell himself that he wasn’t freaking out and was actually perfectly calm right now. Unfortunately, that was really difficult, with how Yuffie was clinging to his arm and babbling hysterically as she peered over the edge down into the river.

“I can’t see any trace of them! Did they get washed further down the river? Ahh, do you think they could survive that?!” She turned to look at Cloud, her eyes wide as her grip on Cloud’s arm tightened. “And did Vincent turn into a monster? I _knew_ he was a vampire or something! This is so weird! What should we do?!”

“…We follow the river downstream, I guess”, Cloud said, trying to keep his voice steady. No need to freak out. Sephiroth and Vincent were both enhanced; they’d be okay. He was far more concerned about where that Summon had come from. That specific type of Bahamut looked worryingly familiar. Where had he seen it before…?

“Is your memory failing you again, Cloud?” Hearing Aerith’s voice from behind him made Cloud spin around so quickly that he almost knocked Yuffie over, expecting to see her standing there but finding absolutely nothing. “I’m in your head, silly”, the voice chided him. “Now, why don’t you try to use it, for once?”

“What’s wrong?” Yuffie asked. Cloud bit back the cheeky rebuttal and tried to ignore the building discomfort in his chest. Aerith wasn’t supposed to make him feel like this. When he’d first seen her during his near-death experience, he’d been elated, but ever since her latest appearance, there was something that just felt… off. He shouldn’t be seeing things that weren’t there. 

“But I am here, Cloud. I’ve always been here.”

“Ominous”, Cloud muttered under his breath, before turning on his heel and setting off to follow the river. While he should probably be concerned, he had other, more urgent worries for now. “C’mon Yuffie. Let’s go.”

“Oh…” Yuffie bounced after him as they zigzagged around the boulders which had been scattered around the path by the rockslide. “Aren’t you freaked out at all? I mean, your boyfriend just fell off a cliff! If I was dating someone – not a Shinra lapdog of course! – I’d be really worried if something like this happened! He’s probably hurt! What if he’s dead? Why aren’t you…”

“Jeez, calm down!” Cloud held his tongue, remembering he was speaking to a child, and tried to keep his tone as controlled as he could. “Sephiroth and Vincent are probably the toughest people on the Planet. They’re made of stronger stuff than normal humans. Something like this isn’t gonna harm an enhanced person.” At least he hoped so. Vincent couldn’t die, but Sephiroth had been weaker than usual after what happened in Nibelheim… ah, no, he’d promised himself he wasn’t going to worry!

“But…”

“No buts! Be a little quieter… We don’t know who called that Summon out, so we’ll have to be careful.”

“You’re saying it could be dangerous?” Yuffie gasped, not sounding nearly as frightened as she probably should have. “This is really exciting! Do you always have adventures like this?”

“Unfortunately yeah, it tends to happen a lot”, Cloud replied, but didn’t elaborate. “Now please, be quiet.”

Yuffie somehow actually managed to keep her mouth shut as they followed the narrow path along the river. They didn’t get very far, however, until the sound of voices further down the road set off Cloud’s alarm bells. He grabbed Yuffie and hauled her along to hide in a crevice in the cliffside behind a boulder, hoping they’d be safely out of sight there.

“…was unnecessary. We’re on a mission, not meant to be playing around.”

“Sorry, Yazoo… I just thought… maybe Kadaj would see Bahamut and come find us… Oh, you don’t think the one who destroyed it was Kadaj, do you?”

Cloud froze, recognising their voices just as he finally remembered where he’d seen that particular version of Bahamut before. Finally, they stepped into view so he could peer out at them; two of Sephiroth’s Remnants, looking exactly as they had on the day they’d wrought havoc upon Edge with that same Bahamut Summon.

“Now this is interesting”, Aerith said, manifesting next to the two of them, facing away from Cloud as always. “What could have brought this on…?”

“No, Loz”, Yazoo said, his monotone voice somehow clearly exasperated. “I felt someone. But it wasn’t him.”

“Maybe it was big brother!” Loz declared, his excitement sounding deceptively childish. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear that Mother sent us to help him!”

Oh no. No, no, no. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was all wrong. Cloud tried to stay calm, but given the current situation, he felt like his panicking was completely justified. Was this a consequence of Jenova ending up in the Lifestream? Was she sending the Remnants as a means to tempt Sephiroth back into her grasp?

“Interesting theories”, Aerith said, her voice echoing from where she was standing and inside Cloud’s head simultaneously. It made Cloud feel dizzy as all hell. “Trying to use your head now, are you? Good work.”

“We need to focus, Loz”, Yazoo said, striding forward and stepping right through Aerith as if she wasn’t there – which, of course, she wasn’t – passing right past the crevice where Cloud and Yuffie were hiding. Cloud held his breath and felt Yuffie tense up next to him. “No time to waste. Kadaj will find us once he’s tracked Mother down, and then we’ll all be reunited.”

“Even big brother?” Loz whispered in awe.

“Hopefully. Now, now… Don’t cry.” Yazoo continued walking, and Loz stomped after him, both of them vanishing out of sight.

“I’m _not_ crying!” It was obvious from his voice that he was.

“Certainly not”, Yazoo drawled. Cloud could barely hear what he was saying anymore. “Now, regarding what Sephiroth is planning…” The distance between them swallowed the rest of whatever he’d been saying, but in its wake, it still left a numb coldness digging its way into Cloud’s heart.

Aerith giggled and faded away, laughter still ringing in Cloud’s ears. Cloud waited as their footsteps grew fainter as they got farther and farther away, expecting them to come running back at any time when they realised someone had been listening in on them, but they didn’t. Eventually, he couldn’t hear them at all anymore.

“…Whoa”, Yuffie whispered. Somehow, she’d managed to stay quiet this far. Cloud was honestly rather impressed. “So… are those like… Sephiroth’s siblings or something?”

“Or something”, Cloud said, trying to remember how to breathe. “They’re… bad news.” He was still dizzy. “We need to find Sephiroth and Vincent.” He slipped out of the crevice and waited for her to follow until he started walking again, faster than before.

Sephiroth, planning something. Cloud tried not to allow himself to think too hard about Yazoo’s last mysterious words, but they had already rooted themselves in his mind. Nothing made any sense. What the hell was going on? He found himself wishing Aerith would come back to explain things to him, but for better or worse, there was no trace of her now. Sephiroth couldn’t have anything to do with this… could he? Cloud didn’t want to believe it, but it was difficult to resist giving in to the quickly building paranoia.

“…Hey, maybe we should’ve followed them. That Bahamut Materia looked pretty powerful, I’m sure you could have use for it… and if not, you could always give it to me!”

Okay. Focus. Cloud took a deep breath, ignoring Yuffie’s prattling. First, find Sephiroth and Vincent. Then… simply attempt to deal with whatever came next, regardless of what it meant for him, for Sephiroth and for the rest of the world as he knew it.


	15. Aerith

After a ride that lasted well into the night, they managed to make it over the marshes without getting attacked by any more Zoloms. Aerith was sad to let the Chocobos go, but bringing them through the Mythril Mine with them wouldn’t exactly be a good idea. It was probably better to let them go back to their herd anyway… Angie was still insistently pressing forward, so she and Genesis followed him into the cavern.

“I wonder where he’s bringing us”, Aerith said as they stumbled through the mine. She was getting tired, but it was nowhere near how worn out Genesis looked when she glanced over her shoulder to watch him. He hadn’t suggested that they should stop to rest. Aerith wondered if that was too difficult for a man with his ego and decided to have mercy. “Should we take a break?”

“A decent idea. You must be exhausted”, Genesis wheezed and stumbled over to the closest wall, dropping down onto the ground with a groan. Aerith would probably have laughed if she hadn’t felt sorry for him. Instead, she came over to sit down next to him. Angie, who had been running ahead, came padding back as well, nuzzling against Aerith’s shoulder with a whine.

“Sorry, we need to rest”, she told him. Angie looked tired as well, now that she got a closer look at him. She watched as he approached Genesis, who had settled for lying on his back, and leapt up onto his stomach. Genesis let out a grunt, but allowed Angie to lie down on top of him, reaching a hand out to scratch behind his ear.

“You’re taking this surprisingly well”, he muttered. “I would’ve expected you to be a lot more reluctant to go along with me.”

“I’ve been through worse”, Aerith admitted. She got a raised eyebrow in response. It wasn’t really something she liked talking about – not even with her mom or Zack – so she wasn’t sure why she spoke up now. “I… lived in a Shinra lab until I was seven.”

“…Hmm.” Genesis gave her a sharp look. “Hollander has never mentioned you, so… Hojo?”

“Unfortunately”, Aerith sighed. Genesis nodded in understanding. “My dad, he was…” She paused, not entirely certain if this was something she should tell him. “He was murdered by Hojo when I was just a baby. His name was Gast Faremis, he used to be…”

“Head of the Science Department?” Genesis’s eyes widened, and he stared at her in shock. “That’s… you… Professor Gast… you’re _his daughter_?!” Aerith nodded, honestly a bit taken aback by his reaction. “Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess…” he murmured. “Does Sephiroth know?”

“Um… No, I don’t think so”, Aerith said. “It’s not like I know him that well, so why…?”

“It hardly matters”, Genesis muttered. Aerith made a mental note to ask Sephiroth about it, when she was next given the chance.

Some time passed. They both remained quiet, with Genesis clearly close to dozing off. Angie remained alert, though; Aerith could see his ears twitching and his gaze drifting around the area. Keeping an eye out for monsters, perhaps? It was oddly sweet seeing him nestled on Genesis’s chest.

Now that she was relaxing for the first time in many hours, Aerith could feel her ears starting to ring again, the Planet making its presence known once more. It had been easier to shut it out while they were on the move, but now? It was incredibly difficult to ignore.

“…I’m going to take a look around”, she said and stood up, getting no response from Genesis except a non-committal, half-asleep noise. She was surprised he wasn’t trying to stop her. But then again, there wasn’t really anywhere for her to run from here. And he clearly wasn’t feeling well right now, so she supposed it made sense.

Getting a bit further away from Genesis lessened the sensation a bit. Simply rounding a corner to get out of sight made her feel like she could breathe again. Still, the Planet remained in her head, a distant cacophony of voices shrieking in terror and warning her about dangers she couldn’t fathom.

Aerith thought about the reason Genesis had done this. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to provide him with a cure for his degradation, or if she even should. The Planet certainly didn’t seem to think so. But still… Maybe he wasn’t a very good person, but that didn’t mean he deserved a slow, painful death. The thought produced a sharp pain in her head, and Aerith winced. For once, the Planet’s message was completely clear to her: she was too nice for her own good.

“He doesn’t deserve to suffer”, she whispered insistently, hoping that would help her get the point across. “I know you don’t like him, or Sephiroth, but… they’re just people. Right?” Here she was, talking back to the voices in her head after spending years trying to pretend they didn’t exist… It was laughable, really.

 _Calamity_ , the Planet responded, for once managing to form actual words. _Corrupting us from within._ Concerning words for certain, but Aerith didn’t feel like she had come any closer to understanding.

“Sephiroth has been nothing but nice to me”, she said, needing to express her frustration somehow. “If I got to know him better, I could even consider him… a friend. You don’t like that, do you?” It definitely didn’t, if the ringing in her ears was anything to go by. “I want to cure Genesis”, she said, feeling bolder by the second. “Tell me how.” She got no coherent response.

Frustrated, Aerith kicked the wall. Then, she closed her eyes and tried her best to recall the few scattered things her mother had taught her about the Cetra and their connection to the Planet. The Planet had so many voices; she wondered, if she could pick out a single voice from the Lifestream that was willing to help her, would she get the advice she wanted? A part of her wondered if Ifalna herself wouldn’t be there, if she hadn’t been waiting for her to reach out all along…

It was difficult, trying to find anything in the Lifestream, especially since she wasn’t at all used to opening her mind to the Planet like this. It was an overwhelming presence; she almost lost her footing simply from trying to pick anything out from it. She pushed on, tried to make it to the core of it all. Surrounded by the many remnants of the recently deceased and voices of her ancestors, there was a powerful presence unlike anything else. She reached for it.

Instantly, she regretted it. It sent a shudder through her body so intense that she felt sick to her very core, like fire, like death, like fury unlike anything she’d known before… Cold laughter echoed through her ears, and the sudden, sharp pain in her chest snapped Aerith out of her intense focus. Her hand automatically flew to her chest, expecting to find a wound there, but there was nothing.

She hurried back to the others, startling Genesis awake as she came running back. It was impossible to ignore the deep feeling of wrongness building up inside her. Whatever that thing had been, it clearly wasn’t harmless, and she distinctly felt like it wasn’t supposed to be there. A malevolent entity deep within the Lifestream…

“What’s the matter?” Genesis asked, looking a bit concerned. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“…It’s nothing”, Aerith said. She wouldn’t have known how to explain it anyway. Genesis didn’t look convinced. He opened his mouth, clearly about to question her further, when Angie suddenly leapt to his feet with a confused whine. Aerith and Genesis both stared at him as he sniffed the air and seemed to listen for something.

“…There’s someone heading this way”, Genesis said, his voice barely loud enough for Aerith to even hear him. Aerith tried to listen, and after a moment, she could pick out the sound of footsteps from the background noise. Slowly, they were getting closer and closer, until they were just around the corner. Genesis clumsily got to his feet, Rapier in hand, and Aerith stepped closer to him, wondering if she’d be able to cast spells without Materia again, if it became necessary.

Angie let out a loud bark and then raced around the corner. Aerith and Genesis shared a look and then followed him. There, they found Angie nuzzling against the legs of a silver-haired person clad in all black, who was enthusiastically crouching down to pet him.

“Sephiroth?!” Genesis exclaimed in surprise as their unexpected company looked up at them with feline green eyes.

No, not Sephiroth, even though Aerith had thought the same thing at first. He was too tiny, too young, around her age maybe? The hair was all wrong too; while it was silver just like Sephiroth’s, it was shorter – not too far from Genesis’s hairstyle, actually.

“Not Sephiroth”, the boy snapped, stopping his frenetic petting of Angie to stand up as he reached for the sword he was carrying on his back. “Kadaj.”

“Kadaj?” Genesis repeated suspiciously while Kadaj glared daggers at him.

“Stop it! We don’t want any trouble!” Aerith quickly interjected, desperately hoping she could stop things from getting ugly. Somehow, it worked. Kadaj took his eyes off Genesis the instant she spoke up, his angry expression shifting into confusion and then instantly into delight. 

“Mother, there you are!” he exclaimed with a wide grin. “I finally found you!”


	16. Zack

“I’m serious!” Professor Hollander yelped and backed up against the wall. “I don’t know where Genesis is, and I don’t know anything about the Cetra girl either!”

“Liar!” Zack snapped. “You’re working with Genesis, so of course you’ve got to know!”

“I don’t think he knows, Zack”, Cissnei said. “Genesis isn’t exactly the most… predictable person. Never has been.” She turned to Tseng, who kept his gun pointed towards Hollander. “Remember that time when he invited us all out to that night club and…”

“Not the time for reminiscence”, Tseng said. “There’s a lot of research that could possibly be confidential here.” Zack couldn’t argue with that; the papers scattered around the room combined with the presence of a mad scientist said enough. “Cissnei, you’re going to go over everything while I keep my eye on Hollander here. Zack, I want you to go check out the underground caverns, just in case there’s something there.”

“The… underground caverns?” Zack questioned.

“There’s an old tunnel system underneath Banora. They’re old Shinra mines”, Cissnei explained. “After the town was bombed, it’s become very easy to access. Just look for big holes in the ground where the Mako-green light seeps out. You can’t miss it.”

“…Right.” Zack headed for the door, and Tifa wordlessly followed along. 

The house Hollander had been hiding in was one of the few houses in the ruins of Banora that hadn’t been completely torn apart by the bombing. It was incredibly unsettling to be back here after almost two years. Zack tried not to let the memories overtake him, tried to focus on the task at hand, but it was incredibly difficult. He managed to spot something that looked like the Mako light Cissnei was describing on the outskirts of what was left of the town, and determinedly set off towards it.

“She said this place was bombed…” Tifa murmured. The expression on her face was wary. Zack could tell it was hard for her to speak her next words. “Did… did Shinra…?”

“Yeah. I was here when it happened. The public isn’t supposed to know, though.”

“…Awful.” Tifa’s expression twisted into a grimace. “I’m sorry, but I just don’t understand how anyone could ever work for Shinra.”

Zack couldn’t manage a reply. He couldn’t blame her for feeling that way, but he’d been with Shinra since he was thirteen. It had all seemed so easy in the beginning, until his dreams of heroism had come crashing down on him.

“I wanted to be a hero”, he admitted. “To help people. Not sure how much good I did in the end, but…”

“You seem like a good guy, Zack”, Tifa said. “I know you don’t agree with Shinra on everything either, so…” She let out a sigh. “Let’s just focus on this for now. I want to meet your girlfriend.” She offered him a grin, and he found himself grinning back.

“Ooh yes! It’s gonna be great!”

Peering down into the hole in front of them, Zack had to admit it was the kind of place he felt like he wasn’t supposed to venture into, which of course only made him incredibly curious. It was impossible to see the bottom, and when he tossed a small rock down into the hole, it took several seconds before he could hear the distant thud as it hit the ground. Zack peered down, trying to ignore the sudden temptation he felt. He could practically imagine Angeal or Sephiroth trying to scold him for his adventurous spirit. Zack couldn’t help it; he’d always enjoyed being a bit of a show-off.

“That doesn’t look very safe”, Tifa said, which only fuelled the fire. Zack only gave her a _look_ , which she responded to with suspicion. “Zack…?”

Zack took a few steps back, and then spurted forward to leap down into the hole with a hoot, not even stopping when Tifa screamed in protest. It wasn’t until he was already falling that he realised he might very well end up tumbling down into a pool of Mako. Thankfully, the ground he landed on was solid rock. It would have hurt a normal person, but luckily, being a SOLDIER had its perks.

“Zack, are you all right?!” Tifa’s voice echoed from above.

“Yeah, just peachy!” Zack called back and gazed around the area, surprised to find himself in what looked like remains of an abandoned factory of some sort. There was Mako seeping out from cracks in the floor, so he walked forward carefully, making sure it was safe.

“I’m coming down too!” Tifa yelled. “Gonna take me a moment, though…” He heard the sound of shoes scraping against rock, and when he looked up, he saw Tifa starting to make her way down to him. “No need to wait up… I’m used to mountain climbing, remember? You can go on and check things out ahead if you like…”

“Okay!” Zack called back and went on ahead deeper into the cavern. He reached a crossroads and glanced to his right, only to spot… a desk? What was that doing here? He approached it and found a bunch of pictures of a boy who couldn’t be anyone but a younger Genesis, with people who he assumed were his parents. There were also pictures of Genesis and Angeal as teenagers, arm in arm, some of them featuring Angeal’s mom Gillian… Zack could feel his throat clogging up and decided to leave all of it alone for now. No time to get caught up in old memories.

Zack turned around and headed in the opposite direction, down a mysterious stairway that made him feel more like he was descending down into an ancient shrine rather than an abandoned mine… Heh, shrine, mine, that rhymed…

Reaching the end of the stairs did nothing to change that impression. Zack had seen his fair share of impressive scenery, but this? This was something else. A cavern large enough to probably fit the entire Shinra building within it, an underground lake surrounded by clusters of crystallised Mako… The waterfall just topped the whole thing off perfectly, and as Zack’s gaze drifted upwards, behind the cluster of even larger crystals, he saw… something? A monster? But it was just too large, and wasn’t moving… Maybe he should get closer to check it out?

Actually, no, screw that. If that thing was alive and he somehow accidentally woke it up, it was clearly large enough to cause a lot of destruction. Better to let sleeping monsters lie. He turned his attention to the nearby Mako crystals instead. They were mesmerising. Zack wondered if this meant that the Lifestream flowed close to the surface here. He probably should’ve paid more attention during his Materia lessons… Unable to resist, he touched the crystal’s smooth surface.

 _Zack._ It wasn’t even a voice as much as it was just an odd sensation down his spine. For a moment, Zack wondered if he’d simply imagined it.

“Hello…?” he said, keeping his voice quiet, trying not to think too hard about the ghost stories he’d been so scared of when he was a kid.

 _I’m trapped, Zack._ Again, he heard it, and this time, it felt even stranger, leaving his head dizzy and feet unsteady.

“Trapped…?” he questioned. His head felt heavy.

 _You could help me, Zack._ Help? He liked being helpful… only he wasn’t sure how to help in the first place. Laughter ran through his ears. Why was it so hard to stay focused…?

“Zack!” Tifa’s voice caused Zack to jolt enough for him to pull his hand off the Mako crystal. Instantly, his head was completely clear again. It almost felt like he’d woken up from a weird dream. What the hell…? “Zack! Get back here!” Uh oh. He’d worry about whatever _that_ had been later. Tifa’s tone sounded like it was pretty urgent. Zack hurried back up the stairs, mentally reminding himself to thank her later for possibly saving him from being eaten by a demon or something. Jeez, suddenly this entire place was giving him the creeps…

“No need to be alarmed.” He recognised the voice even before he saw the person it belonged to. “I’m simply here to negotiate…”

“Director?!” Zack exclaimed as he reached the end of the stairs and found Lazard pinned against the wall, dangerously close to the receiving end of Tifa’s fist. “What are you doing here?” Actually, when he thought about it, he supposed it made sense. According to Cissnei, Lazard had been funding Hollander, after all. “You know where Genesis is? Since, you know, he decided to kidnap my girlfriend and all that.” It was hard to keep the spite out of his voice.

“Is he on Genesis’s side?” Tifa asked. “Want me to punch him?”

“No need for that, I assure you!” Despite everything, it was honestly pretty funny seeing the former Director of SOLDIER so taken aback by a 15-year-old girl. “Unfortunately, I know nothing of Genesis’s whereabouts… but I want to know where you stand, Zack. Are you truly committed to Shinra?”

“A pretty dangerous question to ask”, Zack said, gears turning in his head. “You know I came here with the Turks, right?”

“I’ve known you for long enough to tell that you’re a good man”, Lazard said, still making absolutely no moves to struggle against Tifa. “While I was with Shinra, I wanted to help the people first and foremost. You always wanted to be a hero. We’re the same in that regard.”

“Why’d you ditch Shinra then?” Zack asked. He’d been wondering about that ever since Cissnei dropped the information on him like a bomb while he was trying to enjoy his vacation.

“I couldn’t do enough from my position in Shinra, even from a high-ranking position such as Director of SOLDIER. I thought, if I sided with Genesis… maybe we could overthrow Shinra. But Genesis is simply working for his own gains in his search for a cure for his degradation, and Hollander is an incompetent fool who’s been trying to get me to participate in his mad experiments.” Lazard sighed. “It was a grave mistake to join their side. I’m looking to… rectify the situation and find another way to reach my goal.”

“By teaming up with someone else who can do the dirty work to overthrow Shinra, huh?” Zack couldn’t help cocking an eyebrow at him. “You’re pretty damn lucky I just recently decided that Shinra wasn’t gonna be my be-all and end-all career, or else I’d be turning you over to the Turks right now.”

“I had faith.” Lazard smiled. “As I said, you always were a good man, and since you just happened to show up here… I knew this might be my only chance. If Shinra is to be taken down, a SOLDIER 1st Class’s strength will be necessary, and you’re probably the second best… well, everything, really.” At least he had the decency to look sheepish about that.

“Whoa there, don’t flatter me too much.” Zack tried to think about it. Sure, Lazard was his former boss and it wasn’t like he was completely against the idea of allying himself with him, but to put it simply, he just didn’t know how good it would be to have yet another extra person to drag along on this adventure, especially one who was known to be an enemy of Shinra and who wasn’t much of a fighter. “You might wanna know… that Sephiroth’s on our side as well.”

“You and Sephiroth are planning to take down Shinra?” Lazard’s eyes widened almost comically. “But Sephiroth… has always been so loyal to the Company. What changed his mind?”

“A little blond infantryman who just couldn’t keep his mouth shut. It’s a long story and I don’t even know the half of it myself”, Zack sighed. “But I mean, if we share a big noble goal, then…”

“It sounds like it’s more personal than some noble goal, though”, Tifa said, finally letting go of Lazard. “You got some beef with the President or something?”

“President Shinra is my father”, Lazard stated coldly. “I’m his oldest son, Rufus’s half-brother, but he has never acknowledged me as such, since it wouldn’t look good on him to publicly accept an illegitimate son as his own.” Okay, _whoa_ , hold up.

“…That’s new!” Zack exclaimed, his voice coming out a bit more shrill than he’d intended. Now that he really thought about it, he could definitely see the family resemblance, between Lazard and Rufus at least… Oh no, now he was imagining a young President Shinra as a blond twink, and that definitely had to stop, like, _immediately_.

“That’s excellent!” Tifa cut in. “If we have someone related to the President on our side, someone who could possibly take over after him, we’re one step closer to revolution!” Wow, she was almost getting a bit too enthusiastic about this revolution thing…

“We’re not doing anything until we’ve found Aerith”, Zack said. “Deal?”

“It’s not like there are any better alternatives lying around”, Lazard said. “Let’s figure out how to get out of here without alerting the Turks first, all right?” He began to walk, past the desk and up another stairway Zack hadn’t really noticed earlier, mostly because the one that led down into the depths of the suddenly terrifying cavern had been much more intriguing at the time.

The stairway led back up into town; in fact, they ended up right behind the house where Cissnei and Tseng were currently holding Hollander hostage. Zack glanced at the helicopter, deciding that it was going to be their best bet to get out of here. They could make a run for it, but there was always the risk that the Turks would be quick on the uptake and come running at them before they could get away.

“I want you to sneak over to the helicopter and start it up”, he whispered to the others. “I’ll distract the Turks.”

“Will you now?” …Oh, wasn’t that just awesome? Tseng and Cissnei both stepped around the corner, Cissnei dragging the handcuffed Hollander along while Tseng pointed a gun towards them. “I had a feeling you were up to something, but I couldn’t imagine you’d do something as foolish as betraying the Company.”

“Actually I’m really just looking for my girlfriend”, Zack retorted, unable to resist the chance to act all cocky and confident. Just like a hero should. “The whole rebellion thing is kind of a side gig at the moment.” Zack made sure to keep both Lazard and Tifa behind him so that he could take the hit for them if it became necessary.

“You’re making a mistake, Zack”, Cissnei said. Though her face was stoic, she couldn’t quite hide the worry in her eyes. “Don’t be drastic, we can still find Aerith, and…”

“Sorry. I’m quitting”, Zack said, getting a bit too much satisfaction from the shocked looks on their faces. “Turns out working for a greedy, oppressive regime isn’t much of a hero’s job, after all.” He thought he was pretty good at making up these speeches on the spot. As Hollander’s lips curled into a smirk, Zack couldn’t resist smirking back. “Sorry, old man. Doesn’t mean I’m gonna help you either.”

Tseng hadn’t pulled the trigger yet, but this was no time for taking chances. Before anyone else had time to move, Zack cast the most powerful Sleepel spell he could manage.

“You know, one day that isn’t going to work”, Tifa commented as the three of them all dropped to the ground unconscious. “And I want to be there for it, to see your face.”

“But that day isn’t today! C’mon, to the helicopter, quick, before the spell wears off!” Zack stepped over the three bodies and hurried towards the helicopter as quickly as his legs could possibly carry him.

“Do you know how to fly this?” Lazard asked as they climbed into the front seats, Tifa making herself comfortable in the back. “I’ve done it a few times, but always with someone more experienced as co-pilot, so I wouldn’t call myself an expert…”

“Of course I know!” Zack said and started the buttons without hesitation. “I’ve watched loads and loads of people do it over the years! But hey, first time’s the charm!”

“You can’t possibly… _Zack!_ ” What was Lazard complaining about? The helicopter was lifting off the ground just fine! Lazard let out a frustrated sigh, but began to press buttons as well. “I suppose I’ll just have to pilot a bit more than I had intended… Where are we headed?”

“Just get us away from Banora without crashing for a start”, Tifa mumbled from the back.

“That we can do! Right?” Zack grinned at Lazard, who offered him an exasperated smile and a nod in return before going back to focusing on steering. The helicopter took off higher into the air, leaving Banora in the dust.


	17. Cloud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly late chapter today because I almost forgot that I was supposed to update today, whoops... :')

He’d spent a lot of his life travelling, but Cloud wasn’t sure he’d ever been in more of a hurry to reach his destination than he was right now. He practically ran along the river, only pausing to make sure Yuffie wasn’t getting left behind – luckily she wasn’t having any trouble, despite her complaining – trying not to stumble over anything while also holding back a mental breakdown. He had to find Sephiroth, had to figure out if he was somehow behind all of this, even though he logically wasn’t supposed to be…!

Following the river led them to a waterfall. More exactly, the waterfall that hid the cave Lucrecia had sealed herself within. Maybe they should pop in for a visit, now that they’d ended up here anyway. If there was something going on with Sephiroth, it could sway things in the right direction if he got to meet his real mom. Less risk of him somehow being manipulated by Jenova, less risk of everything spiralling further out of control…

“Okay, so how do we get down?” Yuffie yelled over the booming sound of rushing water. Cloud peered down and spotted Sephiroth and Vincent seated on the shore far down below. What a relief… But yeah, getting down from here wasn’t going to be an easy task. The way down was steep and dangerous.

“We’ll figure something out”, Cloud yelled back and took a moment to think about it, before settling for casting a Firaga vaguely in Sephiroth’s and Vincent’s direction, close enough for it to get their attention as it crashed into the ground but not close enough to actually hit them. They both scrambled to their feet and looked in his direction, and Cloud couldn’t resist grinning as he waved at them. Vincent said something to Sephiroth before speeding forward and taking advantage of his enhancements to scale the cliffside.

“You survived”, he remarked dryly as he reached the top, flinging himself upwards to land in front of Cloud effortlessly. Yuffie yelped in surprise.

“Ah! You really are a vampire or something!”

“Oh no”, Vincent deadpanned. “My darkest secret has been revealed.” He stepped closer to them, scooping Yuffie up with one arm – surprisingly, she didn’t try to struggle – and turning his back to Cloud. “Cloud. On my back.”

“Did we interrupt your bonding time?” Cloud asked smugly as he wrapped his arms around Vincent’s neck and heaved himself up onto his back. Vincent didn’t dignify him with a response, instead leaping right off the cliff and landing on the ground beneath the waterfall as if it had been nothing. Cloud slipped off his back and watched him set Yuffie down; she met Cloud’s gaze, her eyes wide, clearly too stunned to make a sound.

“Cloud!” Cloud barely had time to turn his head before he’d already been lifted off his feet and pulled into a tight embrace. Sephiroth smelled of wet leather, but it was kind of hard to care about that right now. “I’m so relieved you’re all right, Cloud”, Sephiroth murmured into Cloud’s hair.

“Glad you’re okay too”, Cloud replied and pressed his face against Sephiroth’s collarbone. Even though he’d been freaking out since the Remnants had showed up, being back with Sephiroth finally made him relax a bit. Of course Sephiroth wasn’t behind any of it; this Sephiroth would never do anything like that. Cloud was just being paranoid…

“So do you really think you can trust him?” Aerith’s voice echoed in his ears. Cloud tried his best to ignore it. At this point he was starting to have concerns about seeing and hearing her like this. He couldn’t remember when he’d last hallucinated; it must have been before the time loop started for sure, but maybe his near-death experience had triggered something. “How cold of you, Cloud. I let you stay in this timeline and you repay me by acting like I’m not real?”

It couldn’t be real. He wanted so badly to pretend that everything was all right… but he’d seen the Remnants. That was a fact.

“Hey, you two are adorable and all, but we saw something weird!” Yuffie marched up to them, finally having rediscovered her voice. “There were these two guys who looked just like Sephiroth! They were the ones who summoned that Bahamut!”

“They… looked like me?” Sephiroth’s grip on Cloud loosened. Cloud untangled himself and peered up at him, noticing upon closer inspection just how tense and distressed he seemed even though he appeared calm at first glance. “But… that doesn’t make any sense.”

“It’s true!” Yuffie said, crossing her arms. “Silver hair, black leather, the whole schtick! They were saying something about a big brother, and a mother wanting them to do something! You got secret little siblings or something?”

“Is she telling the truth, Cloud?” Sephiroth asked. He looked so worried that it was incredibly hard for Cloud to stay calm. He took Sephiroth’s hands and nodded, trying to ignore how badly he wanted to lie down on the ground and scream. “I don’t understand.” Sephiroth gripped Cloud’s hands back, squeezing just a bit too hard. “They can’t be my siblings… can they?” His increasingly desperate gaze drifted to Vincent, who shrugged.

“I wouldn’t know. I was asleep.”

“Could it have something to do with… Jenova?” Sephiroth sounded reluctant to even speak her name. “But you got rid of it, didn’t you, Cloud?”

“I tried to”, Cloud admitted. He was starting to feel dizzy. “Threw her down into the Mako in the reactor… but… now she’s in the Lifestream…”

“The Lifestream?” Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. “I never took you for the religious type.”

Cloud needed to sit down. His legs seemed to have decided to stop working. Sephiroth, ever observant, noticed and helped him sit down on the ground, his hand settling at the nape of Cloud’s neck while he watched Cloud with clear concern.

“Do you know something we don’t, Cloud?” Maybe Cloud read too deeply into it, but Vincent’s voice sounded so accusatory.

Cloud squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t tell them. He couldn’t tell Sephiroth. Where was he even supposed to start?! It was going to sound insane, and if Sephiroth even believed him, he was going to be furious for sure…

“You lied to him, just like Hojo did for his entire life.” It didn’t matter how hard he tried to block her voice out; it made no difference in the end. “He’s going to hate you. He’ll never be able to trust you again. Oh, I wonder if he’ll be able to trust _anyone_ after this…?”

“Cloud?” One of Sephiroth’s hands stroked his hair while the other settled on his cheek. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Let’s find Aerith and Genesis, and then we can work out what to do next. All right?”

He didn’t deserve any of this kindness. Not the embrace Sephiroth pulled him into, not the kiss Sephiroth planted on his forehead…

No. No, he needed to get off the self-hatred train. He literally didn’t have time for it. Not now, not when he had the chance to get Sephiroth to see Lucrecia. He opened his eyes and tried to stand up, but had to be helped to his feet by Sephiroth.

“Can we… take a little break?” Cloud asked. He could use it as an excuse to investigate the cavern behind the waterfall.

“I think we’ve already wasted too much time”, Sephiroth murmured and hoisted Cloud up into his arms bridal style. “But there’s no need to worry. I’ll carry you if you’re tired.” It would have been so incredibly sweet and reassuring, if only it hadn’t been the exact opposite of what Cloud had wanted.

“No, uh, wait!” Cloud wriggled his way out of Sephiroth’s arms. “I, um… I’m dying of thirst here! I need a drink!” He stumbled over to the waterfall on unsteady legs, making a show out of cupping his hands in the rushing water and drinking, and then let out a dramatic gasp. “Oh, there’s a hidden cave behind the waterfall! We should check it out!” He turned to meet Vincent’s gaze specifically, trying to convey as much as possible without saying a single word.

“Cloud”, Sephiroth said, frowning. “We’ve already had way too many distractions. Aerith needs our help. This is not the time for exploration.” Oh, great. He was already on his way to making Sephiroth angry. He just couldn’t do anything right today…

“But what if Genesis is hiding in here?” Cloud suggested.

“Unlikely. We’ll join up with Zack at the next opportunity we get, and figure out what to do next.” Sephiroth’s voice was growing colder by the second. Dammit.

“I really think we should check it out, though”, Cloud said, glancing over at Vincent and hoping desperately for support. “Who knows what we could find in there?”

“Rare Materia! Treasure!” At least he had Yuffie convinced… “We’ll be rich!”

“I doubt it”, Sephiroth said. “Let’s get going, already.” Now he was looking at Vincent as well. Vincent shrugged, looking unbothered by the entire thing, but Cloud couldn’t help noticing how his eyes kept drifting back to the waterfall.

“I think we can afford a quick look”, Vincent finally said – oh, thank the gods – somehow not intimidated at all by the intense look Sephiroth was giving him. “Just a few minutes.”

“I can’t believe you…” Sephiroth sighed, rubbing his temples. “Fine. Let’s make it quick.” It was easy to see how frustrated he was by the entire thing. Clearly, he wasn’t exactly used to his orders being questioned. Hopefully, getting Sephiroth into a bad mood wasn’t going to lead to something even worse. It didn’t exactly make Cloud feel confident for any potential future reveals…

He shouldn’t have felt intimidated by Sephiroth at this point, and he wasn’t, not exactly. Still, Cloud just didn’t have the strength to look at him as he headed off into the cavern, leading the way to what hopefully wouldn’t be a big mistake.


	18. Sephiroth

Sephiroth wouldn’t have said he was angry at Cloud, exactly. He was a little bit frustrated and very confused, perhaps even a bit hurt by his erratic behaviour, but not angry. Cloud would have to do a lot more than that to actually make him angry.

“Why’re you angry?” Yuffie asked him as they ventured into the waterfall cave. _That_ , however, got him closer to anger than anything that had come before it.

“I’m not angry”, he grumbled, a bit more viciously than he’d intended. Yuffie winced, clearly sensing that she was messing with something that was way beyond her control, and hurried to catch up with Cloud and Vincent, who were already going on ahead, silent and determined.

Sephiroth had been trying to wrap his head around it for the past few minutes, but he simply couldn’t understand why they were so eager to waste time on something like this. Aerith’s safety was so much more important than exploring a strange cave they’d just happened to stumble across behind a waterfall. He needed to have a word with Cloud later so that he could hopefully understand what the point of this escapade was. Not to mention that something was clearly off about Cloud right now and he was starting to get worried. Maybe it was about time to finally coax some truths out of him.

He followed the others in silence as they continued down the suspiciously simple path that led straight forward deeper into the cave, making sure to stay on guard just in case there turned out to be monsters lying in wait for them. Strangely, there were no monsters at all; definitely unusual. And then, finally, the path led out into a room, leaving Sephiroth wondering what kind of place they’d stumbled upon, because it certainly wasn’t something you found every day.

“Whoa”, Yuffie gasped. Sephiroth had to agree. He’d never seen anything like this before. This place was eerie in its beauty; crystals lining the walls, bathing the room in cold light and surrounding a small body of water, which in turn surrounded another construction of crystals in the middle of the room…

Was that… a woman inside the crystal? Sephiroth took a step closer, taking the unexpected view in. She was wearing a beautiful white dress, her long brown hair was tied back with a yellow ribbon, and her face… _oh._ He recognised that face; she looked exactly like she had in the picture Vincent had given him. It felt like a punch to the gut. But it couldn’t be possible, she couldn’t be here, he had to be imagining things, had to be…

“Lucrecia”, Vincent gasped, confirming that he wasn’t delusional after all.

 _“Vincent…?”_ The voice seemed to echo all around them, barely audible but incredibly clear at the same time. Her voice… That was _her voice_. It should have been impossible, but Sephiroth didn’t care, because she was _right there_ and nothing else mattered. He wanted to speak up, wanted to run to her, but instead he found himself frozen in place, unable to even make a sound. So many emotions rushing through him all at once, and he didn’t know what to do with any of them.

“This is kinda giving me the creeps”, he heard Yuffie whisper, only for her to get shushed by Cloud.

“Lucrecia…” Vincent repeated, his usually so controlled demeanour slipping away. His voice was raw with emotion. “You’re really here… I can’t believe it…” He approached the crystal slowly, his hand lingering in the air as if he wanted to touch it but didn’t dare to.

 _“Stay back!”_ she screamed. Vincent stepped back in alarm. _“You’re not supposed to be here… I should be dead… The Jenova cells within me are the only thing keeping me alive…”_

That wasn’t what Sephiroth had expected or wanted to hear at all. Wasn’t she supposed to be delighted that this reunion was happening, after all these years…? He could only hear anguish and despair in her voice. Did she not want to see him…?

“And so you hid yourself away…” It was clearly difficult for Vincent to remain composed. “What about Sephiroth? What about your son?” Sephiroth realised it was getting hard to ignore the lump in his throat, even with the supporting hand that must’ve belonged to Cloud being placed on his back.

 _“Sephiroth… my dear, dear child…”_ She whispered his name so softly that it made his heart ache. _“I’ve been having nightmares lately… He’s been in all of them… Fire, death, destruction…”_

Sephiroth’s breath hitched in his throat. He couldn’t stay here. This was too much and not enough all at once; he needed to get out of here, as far away as possible. Sephiroth attempted to move, but Cloud latched himself onto his arm and held him in place.

“But Lucrecia”, Cloud said. “Your son is right here… Can’t you see…?”

“…Mother…!” Sephiroth finally managed to choke out. It was like a spell had been broken; suddenly able to move once again, he slipped out of Cloud’s grasp and stumbled forward, towards her.

 _“My poor son… I never got to hold him, not even once”_ , she whispered, her voice seeming to grow more distant. _“They took him from me… Made him into a monster…”_

Sephiroth wanted to scream. He couldn’t breathe. Unable to stay on his feet, he fell to his knees in front of her. He wasn’t a monster, no, why was she saying that…? How was he supposed to think of himself as human if even the person who brought him into this world didn’t…?

“I’m right here, mother…!” He pressed his hands against the crystal, yearning so deeply for her to pull him into her arms and finally hold him, for her to tell him that everything was all right, that she hadn’t meant to abandon him… But the crystal remained cold and hard under his hands, and nothing changed.

 _“The Planet… in danger…”_ It was hard to even tell what she was saying anymore. Her voice was growing fainter and fainter. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was about to pass out or if she was actually disappearing. _“My fault… my child will bring ruin… can’t call myself his mother…”_

“Please talk to me, mother…” He leant his head against the crystal, barely even recognising his own voice, begging so desperately, so pathetically for her attention. “Please… don’t leave me…” But she was completely silent now; all he could hear was his own ragged breathing.

Sephiroth couldn’t even bring himself to cry. Instead, he remained rooted in place, unable to stop his entire body from shaking. Of all the things he’d been through in his life, nothing could be worse than this; this was the only thing he’d ever wanted, but rather than giving him the closure he needed, it had left him feeling numb, empty and cold.

He felt a hand being placed on his back, but couldn’t bring himself to look and find out who it was. Cloud made it obvious by speaking up anyway.

“I’m so sorry”, he whispered. Why did he sound like he was about to cry? Sephiroth was the one who should be crying, not him… “This… this wasn’t what I meant to…”

“Sephiroth…” Vincent’s voice wasn’t usually so soft and concerned. “Sephiroth, I think it would be best for us to go.” He didn’t want to go anywhere. If his mother wanted to rot here in this cave, maybe it should also be his fate. He pressed his face against the crystal, wondering if maybe it would encase him as well, if he remained here long enough.

“C’mon.” Cloud wrapped his arms around Sephiroth’s waist and tugged. He didn’t have enough strength to make Sephiroth move. “You… wanted to find Aerith, right? We’ll go do that now, ‘kay?”

“We can come back and try to talk to her again afterwards.” Sephiroth felt Vincent’s clawed hand on his shoulder. “She clearly isn’t in her right mind at the moment…” He still couldn’t get a single word out. Vincent heaved a sigh, and then, Sephiroth was being pulled away from the crystal and lifted to his feet. He tilted his head to look over his shoulder at Vincent, who was giving him a worried look.

“Hey.” Cloud stepped up in front of him, looking just as concerned as Vincent. He was clearly on edge, and when Sephiroth didn’t say anything, he only seemed to get more restless. “Sephiroth, please say something. You’re freaking me out.”

He’d promised to talk about it if something was wrong. He was making Cloud upset now too. There was no need for that. Sephiroth took a deep breath.

“Cloud, I…” His voice was hoarse, and he didn’t know what he was supposed to say. But with Cloud peering up at him like that, looking like he would give Sephiroth the world if he could, it suddenly seemed obvious. “…I think I need you to hug me.”

Cloud didn’t waste a single second. He stepped forward immediately, standing on his tiptoes to reach around Sephiroth’s neck properly, and Sephiroth bent down in turn to hold him tight in return. It didn’t ease the horrible feeling in his gut nearly as much as he’d hoped, but at least he felt like he could breathe again.

“I’m here. It’s okay, I’ve got you”, Cloud murmured into Sephiroth’s ear. “I love you. You’re not alone.” Maybe they were just words, but somehow, they were exactly what he’d needed to hear. Sephiroth squeezed Cloud tighter, so incredibly relieved that he at least had one person to rely on.

Make that two. As Cloud let him go, Vincent placed his hand on Sephiroth’s back and gently turned him away from Lucrecia to guide him back the way they had come. As they left, Sephiroth glanced back one last time to get a look at her. She looked the same as she had the entire time they’d been there, eyes remaining closed and unaware of the world around her. He had to tear his gaze away, in the end.

At least he had Cloud and Vincent. He tried to tell himself that it had to count for something. They wouldn’t be staying with him if he really was as horrible as his own mind was determined to think he was. He could prove Lucrecia’s words wrong; he wasn’t a monster. And when he could finally accept that wholeheartedly, he’d come back here and tell her, and maybe she’d finally be able to see him as he truly was.

“Uh, so what was that all about…?”

“Not now, Yuffie.”


	19. Zack

His phone was ringing. Zack should probably have focused more on flying the helicopter, but he figured Lazard had things well enough under control that he could at least check who was calling. Maybe it was Cissnei again; he already had three missed calls from her. He couldn’t help grinning as he dug the phone out of his pocket, wondering if he officially qualified as being fired yet. Oh, it was Cloud. Yeah, he better answer that.

“Hey!” he said as cheerfully as he could. Cloud had to be doing pretty good right now, after all; getting to chill with Sephiroth in Nibelheim was probably way nicer than all this running around Zack was doing…

 _“Hi. Can I get a status update?”_ Oh damn. Cloud sounded way more exhausted than Zack had expected.

“Well, uh… I stole a helicopter from the Turks?” He tried to remember exactly how much he’d told Cloud about the situation. “We checked out Genesis’s hometown, but found no trace of him. We found the missing Director of SOLDIER, though, so now we’re kinda… plotting a revolution with him, I guess?”

 _“I leave you alone for a few days and you’re already starting a revolution. Brilliant.”_ Cloud let out something that could’ve been either a cough or a laugh. Zack thought he could hear rushing water in the background. Where had there been water in Nibelheim…? _“Is Tifa there? Tell her that I think her dad is gonna kill us both.”_

“Yeah.” Zack turned to Tifa, who was leaning forward, clearly trying to listen in on the conversation. “Did you hear?” She nodded and grinned.

“And you can tell him right back that I’m not sorry at all.”

 _“Oh, c’mon… Not gonna be funny anymore when you actually have to face him.”_ Cloud muttered. _“So where are you headed now?”_

“Not sure”, Zack replied and turned to Lazard for guidance. “Where are we going?”

“I don’t know”, Lazard retorted. “Preferably somewhere where we can plan our next move without interference.”

“Maybe we should go back to Nibelheim then”, Zack stated. It seemed sensible enough. “You hear that, Cloud? We’re coming back!”

 _“That would be great and all, but…”_ Cloud let out a sigh. _“We kinda… left Nibelheim already. Sephiroth got too restless to stay. And there’s a new problem.”_

“…Okay.” The way Cloud said it made Zack concerned to say the least. “What kind of problem? Is anyone hurt?”

 _“No… Sephiroth and Vincent went tumbling down a waterfall, but they didn’t get injured or anything.”_ Cloud paused. Zack could tell he was tense, just from over the phone. _“So basically… there were these two guys that looked like Sephiroth. There’s a third one too, but we didn’t see him. They sent a Bahamut Summon after us, and… I have no idea what they want, but it’s bad. I can tell.”_

Cloud seemed genuinely distressed. Zack somehow got the feeling he wasn’t telling the entire truth. Still, what he said already sounded concerning enough, even if there were possibly some pieces missing. Sephiroth Copies, perhaps? If it could happen with Angeal and Genesis, maybe it could happen with Sephiroth too, even if his genes were supposedly different from theirs. As for what their goal could be, that was harder to say, especially since they obviously wouldn’t be under Sephiroth’s command…

“We’ll figure it out, Cloud. Don’t worry”, he said, more as an attempt to keep Cloud calm than a statement made out of genuine belief. “Let’s meet up somewhere. Umm… where’s the closest civilisation from where you are?”

 _“Should be… the Gold Saucer, I think.”_ Zack heard a mumble that sounded like Sephiroth, before Cloud spoke again. _“Yeah. The Gold Saucer. Wanna meet up there?”_ Again, Sephiroth was saying something. Cloud cleared his throat. _“…Okay. Sure. Zack, Sephiroth wants to talk to you. I’m handing the phone over…”_

 _“Zack.”_ If Zack had thought Cloud sounded exhausted, it was nothing compared to Sephiroth. His voice was lacklustre in a way it hadn’t been since he and Cloud had started spending time together. He sounded completely emotionally drained. _“Any leads on Genesis?”_

“No. Like I told Cloud, we went to Banora, but there was nothing there… well, except Director Lazard.” Truthfully, Zack was a bit scared to ask, but he did so anyway. “You okay? You don’t sound okay.”

 _“…We found my mother. My real mother”_ , Sephiroth whispered. _“She’s sealed herself inside a crystal in a cave hidden behind a waterfall. She…”_ His breath hitched, just a little bit but enough for Zack to notice. _“…didn’t acknowledge me. She spoke to Vincent but… I don’t think she even knew I was there.”_ He paused, clearly trying to maintain his composure. _“She thinks Shinra has made me into a monster.”_

“You’re not a monster, Sephiroth”, Zack said without even thinking about it. The information Sephiroth had just dropped on him made him incredibly confused, but that was one thing he could say for sure. Sephiroth let out a chuckle in response.

 _“I had a feeling you’d say that.”_ Wow, he even managed to sound a bit amused, even though it was very subdued. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as Zack had first thought. _“…Thank you. I appreciate your concern.”_

“Hey, that’s what friends are for!” Zack was relieved that Cloud was there to support Sephiroth. “So, are you guys up for a visit to the Gold Saucer?”

 _“I’m sure we can make it”_ , Sephiroth said. _“I’ll… hand the phone back to Cloud now. See you soon.”_ Zack had to hold back a snort at how awkward he managed to sound after getting through the entire conversation until now without any problem.

 _“Okay, so we’re set for the Gold Saucer?”_ Cloud asked.

“Yup! Be good now and look after Sephiroth for me, okay?” Zack hoped joking around would cheer Cloud up a bit, but got only a sigh in response.

 _“…Yeah. See ya.”_ And then he hung up.

“Guess we’ve got a destination”, Zack told Lazard, who nodded. There was a calculating expression on his face.

“Sephiroth, turning against the Company… Never thought I’d see the day.”

“I know, right? You can thank Cloud Strife, local miracle worker, for that!” Zack was about to put his phone away, but then it started ringing again. Figuring it was Cloud who’d forgotten to say something, he picked up immediately, only to find another person entirely on the line.

_“Zack. What the fuck, man? What are you doing, seriously?”_

“Kunsel?!” Zack yelped in surprise, confused until he remembered his own master plan. “Oh, did Dick and Cher talk to you?”

 _“Hi Zack!”_ Cher’s voice echoed somewhere in the distance. Zack thought he heard Dick mumbling something as well, but he couldn’t hear what. He was probably scolding Cher or something.

 _“Yeah…”_ Kunsel sighed. _“I’m just minding my own business and suddenly these two show up asking if I know what Hojo is doing…” Wow, subtle, much? “So what are you up to? I heard from these guys that you were headed to Banora with the Turks. Weren’t you supposed to be in Nibelheim?”_

“…Yup.” Zack didn’t want to say too much. Kunsel was a good friend, but he was also hard to read. It wasn’t easy to tell for sure if he could really be trusted in a situation like this. At least Kunsel didn’t seem aware of the fact that Zack had deserted yet. Zack was sure he’d find out sooner rather than later, though. “Plans changed. I’m… not allowed to say exactly what I’m up to. Sephiroth’s orders. Still… we kinda need your help.”

 _“Sephiroth’s?”_ That seemed to get Kunsel’s attention. _“Okay, sure. So what do you need my help with, then?”_

“Yeah. As they said, I need to know what Hojo is doing”, Zack said. “He was in Nibelheim, but he should have gone back to Midgar by now. He’s up to something. I’d appreciate it if you could help me keep track of his movements.” Nobody liked Hojo anyway, no matter if they were loyal to Shinra or not, so he figured that part wouldn’t be a problem at least.

 _“Hojo was in Nibelheim? I didn’t know about that.”_ Kunsel was clearly interested now. _“Ooh, sounds like a job for me. I’ll look into it, just for you!”_

“Thanks, man! You’re awesome!” Zack grinned.

 _“Heh, it’s no problem, seriously. But… maybe mention my good deeds to Sephiroth too?”_ Kunsel said eagerly.

“Of course! I’ll make sure to tell him all about what a great help you were! We’ll get you the promotion you deserve!” He probably should have felt bad, saying these things to Kunsel, but then again, if they did manage to overthrow Shinra, they’d be in charge, right? So technically, maybe Kunsel _could_ get a promotion, after all!

 _“Can we get a promotion too?”_ Cher yelled. Zack heard Dick shushing him this time.

 _“Well, I’d better get to work, then!”_ Kunsel announced. _“Don’t wanna leave you guys hanging! I’ll get back in touch with you when I have some news!”_ He hung up. Zack put his phone away and turned his attention back to piloting the helicopter.

“I hope the other guys in SOLDIER aren’t gonna cause trouble if we try to start a revolution”, he mumbled.

“You’re worried about that?” Lazard asked. “Don’t you remember how many people deserted when Genesis left? You don’t think the rest would follow you and Sephiroth, if they had to make a choice?”

“…Huh.” He hadn’t really thought of it like that. “Good point.” After all, it had been Shinra’s treatment of Sephiroth that had been the final straw for Zack. If everyone else found out about it, they’d have a lot of members of SOLDIER on their side for sure. “And you’re on our side too! Everyone’s missed having you around!”

“They didn’t find a suitable replacement?”

“Well, they basically put Heidegger in charge, but he keeps on putting all the workload on Sephiroth…” Zack sighed. Sephiroth had been so overworked that it was no wonder he’d wanted to quit, even without all the other things that had happened.

“Well then, I understand why everyone would miss me…”

“Ooh, the other Shinra people are that bad?” Tifa interjected curiously. “Tell me about it!”

Zack spaced out as Lazard began telling Tifa about the other Shinra executives. Man, there were just way too many things to consider for his brain to keep up… Zack couldn’t remember when he’d last been this tired. But he couldn’t let that keep him down. Cloud, Sephiroth, and especially Aerith… They all counted on him. Heroes didn’t have time to be exhausted.


	20. Aerith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for the long-awaited exposition dump!

“Everything finally stopped resetting!” Kadaj was grinning from ear to ear, reminding Aerith very much of an overgrown child. “I don’t know what big brother did to finally succeed, but here we are! Mother, we’re finally reunited!” He tried to step closer, only to find Genesis’s Rapier pointed at his throat.

“Who are you?” Genesis asked. “You must be mistaken. I’m fairly certain she’s too young to be your mother.”

“Quiet!” Kadaj snapped, not seeming the slightest bit intimidated. He turned to Aerith once again. “Mother, you need to come with me! It’s important! I’m here to help you stop the Calamity!”

“The Calamity?” Aerith questioned. The Planet had said something about that too… This had to be connected, somehow. But still, this was just way too confusing. “Why do you keep calling me your mother?” Kadaj’s face fell and his lip quivered. For a moment, Aerith thought he was actually about to burst into tears, but Genesis interjected before that could happen.

“You mean… Jenova?”

Kadaj ignored him, even though the interruption had seemingly strengthened his resolve, and kept his eyes focused on Aerith.

“Of course… you don’t remember. Not that I thought you would, but I was hoping… maybe…” He sighed. “Your future self sent me and my brothers to help you stop the Calamity.”

“Her future self?!” Genesis cut in again before Aerith even had a chance to properly process the information. “If this is your idea of a joke, I’m not laughing.”

“It’s not a joke!” Kadaj insisted. “Me, Loz and Yazoo… we were all happy in the Lifestream with Mother… until _Sephiroth_ decided to play God and took away everything big brother and his friends fought so hard for! Everyone’s memories, everyone’s sacrifices… Mother could feel what he was trying to do, so she sent us because we were connected to him, and could follow him unnoticed through the cracks in time he created!”

“Big brother?” Aerith was trying desperately to piece things together, but it was hard to build a puzzle when all the pieces were blank.

“Yes! My big brother Cloud!” Kadaj puffed his chest out in pride. “He’s fighting to save the Planet even now, after losing everything! But he doesn’t know what’s going on, so we need to find him to let him know!”

“Oh, wonderful”, Genesis drawled. “Of course you know the brat. Just my luck. Even when he’s not here, his presence haunts me.”

“Oh, shut up already!” Kadaj groaned. “You can leave now. You were just a pawn I used to get her out of the city!”

“ _Excuse me?!_ ” Genesis was fuming now. “The Goddess told me in my dreams to find her…”

“I’m afraid I’m no Goddess”, Kadaj said, rolling his eyes. “We both share Jenova’s cells. It was easy for me to reach out and subtly influence your decisions so that you could track her down for me. You’re of no use to me now. I don’t even know who you are.”

“You don’t…” That seemed to set Genesis off more than anything Kadaj had said so far. “You don’t know who I am?! I’m Genesis Rhapsodos, SOLDIER 1st Class, Sephiroth’s rival and equal!”

“That’s big brother, not you, I’m afraid”, Kadaj retorted. “Oh, that’s why you seem familiar… A friend of Sephiroth’s… Something must be wrong with you, if you’re friends with him.”

“Wait”, Aerith said. “Slow down.” She needed a moment to try to piece everything Kadaj had said together. “You’re from the future.” She got a nod in response. “I’m your mother, and Cloud’s your big brother.” Another nod. Big brother had to be an honorary title or something… Aerith dreaded the question she had to ask next, but it was necessary to figure out this weird family dynamic. “You look just like Sephiroth, so is he your…?”

“Our original”, Kadaj said, eyes narrowing in distaste, which at least gave Aerith an answer that wasn’t the one she’d feared. But if anything, that only left her more confused. “Me, Loz and Yazoo are Remnants. Pieces of Sephiroth, until he tossed us away like trash. But even so, you accepted us into the Lifestream as your own.”

Okay, she didn’t actually have three children with Sephiroth. That was a relief. But this was the second time he mentioned being in the Lifestream.

“I’m dead, then”, she said, hoping that he’d tell her that she’d misunderstood. “In the future. How many years from now are we talking…?”

“I’m from eight years into the future”, Kadaj said. “But you’d already been dead for three.”

Five years. She had five years. That was _nothing_. She’d be even younger than her mother had been… Gods, what would her mom do? She’d already lost a husband; how was she supposed to deal with losing a daughter too? And Zack would be heartbroken; they’d never get to grow old together…

“How do I die?” she asked, in a desperate attempt to maybe find a way to save herself.

“Sephiroth kills you.” She didn’t expect it at all, but somehow, when he said it, she couldn’t really claim she was surprised. “You sacrifice yourself to stop him from destroying the Planet.”

“Sephiroth, destroy the Planet?” Genesis exclaimed, completely bewildered. “Why?”

“Because Sephiroth is Jenova’s chosen son and heir, of course!” Kadaj snapped. “You knew the Calamity’s name but not that? You’re just as slow as you look.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Calm down!” Aerith said, wishing she had her staff so she could whack them both a bit to get them to cool off. “I don’t really understand either. This is so confusing, all at once…” Kadaj’s gaze softened a bit at that. “This… Jenova. She’s dangerous? Is she a time traveller too?”

“Not quite”, Kadaj said. “Jenova isn’t the instigator of any of these events. She’s been dead for a long time, but lives on through her son. That would be Sephiroth. I’m not sure how he discovered the ability to rewind time, but he pulled big brother from our time and dumped him here, trapping him in a time loop.”

“A time loop”, Genesis repeated. “You’re saying the brat is a time traveller too.”

“The time loop always ended with October 1st, when Sephiroth first begins to spiral into insanity and burns Cloud’s hometown of Nibelheim down”, Kadaj said. Genesis began to pale all of a sudden, and Aerith watched as his Rapier fell to the ground.

“But we’re past that date now”, Aerith pointed out. “And Nibelheim is still standing, as far as I know.” She felt like Zack would at least have tried to say something about that when he’d called her, no matter how much trouble he was in.

“Correct”, Kadaj said. “The time loop has been broken. I’m not sure what big brother did yet, but he finally managed to change things enough to alter the course of events. Perhaps he finally managed to kill Sephiroth.”

“But Sephiroth isn’t dead, I think”, Aerith said. “The Planet hates him… I think it would’ve told me if he died…”

“Tell me…” Genesis had sunk down to sit on the ground now, as if he’d been completely drained of energy. Angie was nuzzling against his shoulder, clearly worried. “…were Sephiroth and the brat… always an item?”

“An item?” Kadaj frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Sephiroth and Cloud are a couple”, Aerith said and watched his eyes widen in horror. Presumably, that was new, then.

“…That’s _certainly_ not supposed to happen!” Kadaj declared with complete and utter disgust. “Has big brother lost his mind?!”

“I knew there was something off about him”, Genesis mumbled. “The things I told Sephiroth in the reactor… was that what was supposed to make him lose his mind?” He was petting Angie’s head while staring off into space. “So he saved Sephiroth. He saved Sephiroth while I tried to ruin everything…”

Aerith wasn’t about to dive into that rabbit hole. Whatever Genesis had been up to in his mentally unstable state felt less urgent compared to all the information Kadaj had revealed.

“Wait. Is Sephiroth a time traveller too? You mentioned he was the one who rewound time.” Sephiroth hadn’t acted like a man who would try to end the world – or kill her, for that matter – when she’d met him.

“There are two of him”, Kadaj said. “The present one, who knows nothing of these events… and the one from our future, who exists in the Lifestream for now. We don’t know what he’s trying to achieve with this, but now that the time loop has been broken, something must have changed. He could try to end the world again, now that he thinks big brother is the only one who could stop him.”

“You haven’t tried to talk to Cloud?” Aerith asked. Kadaj’s face fell.

“He… doesn’t like us. At all. And we’re not supposed to exist in this time period – if he saw us, chances are he would panic and lash out before we had the opportunity to explain. We didn’t want to risk one of us getting killed, since we were worried about what would happen if time rewound after that happened. We’re not supposed to be here, after all.” Aerith’s head was starting to spin, and Kadaj seemed to notice, giving her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I know it’s a lot to take in…”

“I think I need an adult”, Genesis declared. He was lying down now, staring up at the ceiling of the cavern. “Never mind that I’m the adult here, I need a better one.”

“I’m starting to think I had it the wrong way around.” Kadaj scrunched his nose in distaste. “There must actually be something wrong with Sephiroth, if he’s friends with you.”

So that malevolent presence she’d felt in the Lifestream had been a future version of Sephiroth? It was difficult to unify the image she had in her mind of that furious, terrifying feeling with the man she’d met, but it made sense. That was why the Planet was so angry with Sephiroth. Whatever he was doing in the Lifestream, it was clearly hurting the Planet.

“Okay. I believe you”, Aerith stated. Kadaj looked delighted, and with Genesis no longer in his way, there was nothing stopping him from rushing up to Aerith and throwing his arms around her.

“I missed you so much”, he whispered, sounding so small and vulnerable all of a sudden. Aerith found herself smiling. No wonder her future self hadn’t been able to resist adopting him. She wondered if his brothers were the same way.

“What are we going to do now?” she asked after untangling herself from his tight embrace.

“We’ll reunite with my brothers, of course”, Kadaj said eagerly and grabbed her hand as he started leading her along. “Ooh, they’ll be so happy to see you again! We’ll help you find the strength you’ll need to save the Planet! Your future self told us that you’ll need to use the purifying rain! Do you know what that is?”

“…No, I’m afraid not”, Aerith said, trying not to feel too weighed down about suddenly having the world’s fate thrown onto her shoulders.

“We’ll figure it out!” Kadaj declared, not seeming concerned in the slightest. “Everything will be all right, now that we’ve finally found you!”

“You’re not going anywhere without me!” Genesis and Angie caught up, with Genesis grabbing Aerith’s free arm. “You still have to heal me! I’m afraid I can’t let my path to salvation walk away!”

“The purifying rain will fix that”, Kadaj said, glaring daggers at Genesis. “Once she’s figured out how to use it, she can heal you, and then you can get out of my sight.”

“And I’ll do it gladly!” he retorted. Aerith couldn’t resist rolling her eyes, and the glance she shared with Angie gave her the feeling that he was just as tired of their shenanigans. “So where do we go?” Genesis asked after a moment of blissful silence.

“To a place where Mother will be able to ask for her ancestors’ advice.”

“That sounds like it’d be far away…” Genesis’s voice was whiny, but Aerith couldn’t really blame him. He looked like he was about to fall apart. “I’m not really in the best shape for long walks…”

“You were the one who insisted that you had to come along, you have no right to complain!” Kadaj grinned. “But you’re in luck. Your old man legs will be fine. We’re not going to walk.”


	21. Sephiroth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some slightly nsfw content in this chapter!

“C’mon!” Cloud said, practically vibrating. Sephiroth was sure he was trying to grin excitedly but somehow it just made him look neurotic. “We’re at the Gold Saucer! We need to go have some fun!”

“I want to sleep”, Sephiroth said. He couldn’t even fake excitement like Cloud was trying to. He didn’t want to have fun; he wanted a nice, comfortable bed where he could curl up under the blankets and be miserable in peace. Vincent and Yuffie had both already retired to the rooms they’d booked at the ghost hotel, so he didn’t see why they couldn’t do the same.

“It’s been a while since we did something fun together, just the two of us!” Cloud said. “We’ve had such a shit day that I think we deserve a night out. We should take the opportunity before Zack’s crew shows up and we have to get back to work!”

“I’m too tired”, Sephiroth said, but Cloud was already trying to drag him along out of the hotel lobby.

“What should we do? They’ve got Chocobo races here! I’ll have you know I’m a bit of a prodigy… or maybe we should go watch the play! Maybe they’ll recognise you and let us play the starring roles, that could be fun – we could ruin the entire play! Or…”

“Cloud!” Sephiroth said, firmer this time, finally getting Cloud to stop trying to pull at his arm. “I really, really don’t want to be around people right now.”

“Oh.” Cloud seemed to deflate as he turned to face Sephiroth. “I’m sorry, I… I guess I just got a bit too excited there… Of course you wouldn’t wanna pretend like everything’s fine…” Cloud wasn’t usually this timid. It made Sephiroth worried, as if he didn’t have enough on his plate already. He wondered if there was anything he could do to make Cloud feel better that didn’t involve being around other people, and quickly reached a conclusion.

“We’re going back to our room”, he murmured, leaning down to be on Cloud’s eye level as he placed his hands on Cloud’s shoulders. “And then we’re going to have a nice, quiet night together, so we can both unwind and relax. All right?” 

“All right”, Cloud replied, still seeming a bit twitchy. Sephiroth scooped him up into his arms bridal style, drawing a surprised little noise from him. “Ahh, what are you doing?!”

“Trying to be romantic”, Sephiroth replied, tightening his grip on Cloud as he headed for their room. “Is it working?”

“Maybe”, Cloud replied, resting his head against Sephiroth’s shoulder. A small smile drifted briefly across his face, but he still looked so incredibly tired and miserable that it made Sephiroth even more determined to cheer him up. If he could focus on making Cloud happy, he wouldn’t have to think about anything else.

Vincent had offered to share a room with Yuffie to give them some space – something Yuffie had agreed to immediately after giving Cloud and Sephiroth suspicious looks. Sephiroth had made sure to get himself and Cloud one of the nicest rooms the hotel had to offer, with a large bed they could share comfortably. Sephiroth carried Cloud over to the bed and carefully set him down, before crouching down to remove Cloud’s shoes.

“What are you…”

“Quiet”, Sephiroth said and put Cloud’s shoes and socks aside before standing up again to rid Cloud of his jacket and scarf. “I want to do something for you.”

“Oh?” Cloud took off his shirt while Sephiroth stepped back to hang his coat over a nearby chair. After unclipping his belts as well, Sephiroth got back onto his knees in front of Cloud, placing his hands on Cloud’s thighs. “…Seriously. Sephiroth. What are you doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Sephiroth asked and allowed his hand to slip closer to Cloud’s crotch, hovering over the zipper. He looked up and watched Cloud’s expression grow even more uncertain.

“You really, really sure you want to?” Cloud asked, painfully hesitant.

“I want to”, Sephiroth said. “I’m capable of making my own decisions, Cloud. I want to do something to make you feel good.”

“Well, okay then”, Cloud mumbled, almost managing a smile. “I mean, let’s be real. As long as you want to, it’s not like I’m gonna say no to a blowjob.”

“I had a feeling.” Sephiroth smiled at Cloud before tugging down his jeans and boxers. For a moment, he found himself frozen, struck by the realisation that he had no idea what he was doing. Cloud said nothing; he simply reached his hand out to stroke Sephiroth’s hair. It was simple, yet oddly soothing. Sephiroth took a deep breath, and then leant forward to lick Cloud’s cock experimentally. Cloud’s breath hitched, which Sephiroth took as a sign that he was doing something right. He wrapped his lips around the tip of Cloud’s cock, drawing a gasp from Cloud in response.

“That’s good…” Cloud’s grip on his hair tightened. “Damn, Sephiroth, I’m…” He cut himself off with another gasp as Sephiroth moved forward to take Cloud’s cock deeper into his mouth. Cloud’s hips jerked, and Sephiroth had to pin him in place with his hand.

Sephiroth wondered if this was supposed to feel special, somehow. It didn’t really make him feel anything in particular, neither positive nor negative, but he did enjoy hearing Cloud’s stifled sounds of pleasure. He felt like this clinical approach was probably a bit strange, but it wasn’t like it made a difference, in the end. His goal was for Cloud to enjoy it; nothing more, nothing else. Sephiroth bobbed his head up and down and found a rhythm, which earned him even more moans coupled with a swear or two.

His mind wandered back to how strange Cloud had been acting earlier in the day. Though to be fair, Cloud was always acting a bit strange; it was just a part of who he was. Sephiroth still couldn’t help being worried, because even with all his eccentricities, Cloud didn’t usually act this vulnerable. For some reason he found himself thinking about how Cloud seemed to be oddly aware of things he shouldn’t know, and his mind decided to fixate on how Cloud had joked about being a time traveller.

It had been so nonsensical. Something about trying to stop a meteor, and overthrowing Shinra. In a way, it was so ridiculous in such a specific way that Sephiroth actually found himself wondering if there had been some truth to Cloud’s statement after all… Wait, was he seriously considering this now? There was no scientific proof of time travel being anywhere near possible, and it was certainly not going to be invented within the next few years, no matter how fast technology evolved…

…What an odd thing to be thinking about with his boyfriend’s cock in his mouth. Cloud was outright moaning now, hands tugging at Sephiroth’s hair, and here he was, thinking about scientific impossibilities. Ridiculous.

“Ah… Sephiroth, that’s so fucking good, I…” Cloud bucked against Sephiroth with a drawn-out moan, and – oh. Sephiroth pulled back, a bit more startled than he would’ve liked to admit, swallowing Cloud’s cum practically on reflex. He stared up at Cloud, who stared back in silence for a moment before snorting, his lips curling into a cheeky grin.

“What is it?” Sephiroth asked, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious.

“I’m sorry, you just…” Cloud started laughing. Actually laughing. That was such a relief. “You look so confused!”

“Sorry.” Sephiroth licked the remaining traces of cum off his lips, trying not to feel too sheepish. “I wasn’t sure what I was doing, so I… spaced out.”

“You did great.” Cloud beamed at him and leant down to kiss him. It was the first thing tonight that actually made Sephiroth feel flustered. “I’m gonna go take a quick shower. I feel gross.” He wandered off towards the bathroom, leaving Sephiroth to his own thoughts.

Sephiroth wasted no time in stripping his clothes off and getting into the pair of sweatpants he used for sleepwear, before collapsing onto the bed on his back. This bed was a lot bigger and far more comfortable than Cloud’s tiny one in Nibelheim. Admittedly, his own bed back at his apartment was probably even more comfortable, but he would still pick this over going back to Shinra any day.

“Not gonna shower?” Cloud dropped down onto the bed next to him, dressed in only t-shirt and boxers. Sephiroth shook his head. That sounded exhausting.

“Can’t be bothered… I want to sleep.” Sephiroth watched as Cloud moved over so that he was seated between Sephiroth’s legs. “What are you doing?”

“It’s my turn now”, Cloud whispered and leant over Sephiroth. “Relax and let me take care of you.” His fingers began to trace patterns against Sephiroth’s hipbones. “Let me make you feel good.”

“Sex isn’t going to make me feel better”, Sephiroth said. “Not right now.” Last time they had done this, the Mako had helped with that, oddly enough; it had left him more needy and eager to be touched than he usually was. But right now… how was he supposed to relax when every single touch made him more tense than before?

“I never said it had to be sex, and if you don’t want to, it’s definitely not gonna be.” Cloud brushed his lips over Sephiroth’s abdomen before pulling back to gaze down at Sephiroth with a strangely wistful expression on his face. “Just tell me what you need.”

“I need…” What _did_ he need? His mind drifted back to all the things he’d been thinking about earlier. “I need you to talk to me. Tell me about yourself.”

“Huh?” Cloud peered down at him in confusion.

“It feels like you know so much about me”, Sephiroth confessed. “But I don’t know anything about you.”

“Uh…” Cloud looked… dumbfounded? Uncomfortable? Sephiroth couldn’t get really tell. “There’s not a lot to tell, honestly. I was born and raised in Nibelheim by my single mom, I’m an only child…”

“That’s not what I meant!” Sephiroth struggled to find the words for what he wanted to express. “Hopes, dreams, aspirations. Things like that.”

“It’s not like I know anything about yours either!” Cloud retorted. Sephiroth opened his mouth to respond, to give an example, anything, only to realise he didn’t have anything good to say.

“…That’s because I don’t have any.” A weapon had no need for such things, after all.

“Hey…” Cloud’s expression grew strangely mournful. “Don’t say that.” He crawled on top of Sephiroth to nuzzle his neck. “Hey, is there something bothering you?” He raised his head to gaze down at Sephiroth, eyebrows furrowed. “You had kind of a rough experience today.”

“I don’t want to talk about it”, Sephiroth murmured. He wanted to ignore it, pretend it had never happened…

“I’m not gonna make you.” Cloud trailed fingers along Sephiroth’s collarbone. “But I can tell you’re hurting. I want you to know I'm here for you.”

“I’m still… not sure I understand why, though.” He hadn't intended to say it out loud, but then he went and did it anyway. Even so, he hated admitting it, because he knew how ridiculous it sounded. There was no need to be so insecure about it, not after what they had been through together. “I know you said you didn’t need sex to want me, but… why _do_ you want me?” When not even his own mother wanted him…

“Sephiroth…” Cloud’s gaze softened. “Let me ask you, then. Why do _you_ wanna be with me?” He took Sephiroth's hands into his own, trailing fingers over his knuckles.

“…You make me happy, even when I feel like I don’t deserve it”, Sephiroth confessed. It was hard to put the feelings into words. “I genuinely enjoy being around you, all the time. I've never been this comfortable... with anyone, really.” He swallowed, trying to ignore how raw this made him feel. “You make me feel human.” He fixed his gaze on Cloud. “Now, you tell me.”

“It’s kinda hard to explain…” The soft look on Cloud's face changed into a more distant one. “But it just feels like... in some way, we were always meant to be together. Not trying to be a sappy romantic or anything, I just… have this feeling, bone-deep, that my life could never feel right without you. There’d always be a piece missing. Does that make sense?”

“Oh”, Sephiroth whispered. He hadn’t expected a response like that at all. “Cloud, that's...”

“Horribly sappy, I know”, Cloud mumbled, pressing his face down against Sephiroth’s shoulder.

“No, it’s... it’s perfect.” Sephiroth shifted onto his side and wrapped his arms around Cloud, trying to remember how to breathe. Cloud ran his fingers down Sephiroth’s chest before reaching around Sephiroth to squeeze him, his hand settling on Sephiroth’s shoulder blade.

“Hey… I wanna ask something really dumb”, Cloud said after a moment of silence.

“Go ahead.”

“Can I touch your wing?” Cloud asked, sounding a bit embarrassed as he muffled his voice against Sephiroth’s shoulder.

“I can’t make it appear on command, did you forget?” Sephiroth retorted. Cloud pulled back a little bit so that he could look Sephiroth in the eye.

“Okay then. If I can get it to appear, can I touch it?” he asked. Sephiroth nodded; if Cloud wanted it so badly, he supposed he could allow it, even though it was a nerve-wrecking thought. Cloud huffed and offered Sephiroth an affectionate smile before moving in to knead Sephiroth’s shoulder blade with one hand while using the other to grab Sephiroth’s cheek and pull him in for a kiss.

Sephiroth wasn’t sure how Cloud pulled it off, really. One moment, Sephiroth was squirming under Cloud’s touch, and the next, his wing had burst forth in a wild uncontrollable flap.

“Oh”, Sephiroth exclaimed, breaking his and Cloud’s kiss to glance over his shoulder, examining the feathers that were now scattered all over the room. Cloud began to laugh.

“Told you I could do it!” He reached forward to weave his fingers into Sephiroth’s feathers.

“…Oh”, Sephiroth gasped. It felt so _good_ , like an itch he’d never even noticed finally being scratched… and then Cloud dug his fingers deeper and Sephiroth felt like he was melting. It must’ve been evident on his face, because Cloud’s smile only grew wider.

“Does it feel good?” he asked, and Sephiroth could only nod. “Can I keep going? Is that okay?”

“Cloud, _please_ don’t stop”, Sephiroth managed to choke out. Cloud grinned and slowly pushed Sephiroth onto his back before straddling him.

“You’re so beautiful like this”, Cloud whispered into his ear as his fingers wound their way into Sephiroth’s feathers while he used his other hand to pet Sephiroth’s hair. “Just like an angel.” An angel. Not a monster.

Sephiroth wanted to say something in response, anything, but Cloud’s gentle touches left him gasping so desperately for breath that it was impossible for him to form words. His wing twitched involuntarily under Cloud’s fingers and he found himself shifting his head to feel Cloud brush his hair.

“C’mon”, Cloud murmured. “You can’t seriously think this isn’t good enough for me.” He leant in to brush their noses together, watching Sephiroth with the most loving look Sephiroth had ever seen on his face. “Is it... Is it really so hard for you to believe that I think you deserve to be happy too?”

“Cloud”, Sephiroth murmured, feeling himself growing more and more relaxed. Maybe it hadn’t only been the Mako after all. Maybe he just liked Cloud’s touches in particular.

Cloud kept stroking the wing, working his way further and further along it until Sephiroth felt completely boneless. Everything he’d been worried about had vanished into this pleasurable haze, but he didn’t mind. How could he, when Cloud was showering him in affection like this?

“You look really tired”, Cloud’s voice came from far away. “Are you falling asleep?”

“Mm”, was the only reply Sephiroth could manage. He was only barely aware of blankets being pulled over him as Cloud curled up next to him, still running fingers through his feathers with one hand. They were quiet for a while, and Sephiroth fully expected that there wasn’t going to be any more talking until Cloud spoke up.

“I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you, you know”, Cloud murmured, clearly half-asleep already. Even with how close he was to falling asleep, that was enough to catch Sephiroth’s attention.

“What are you saying?” Sephiroth questioned, instantly more awake.

“I’m so tired…” Cloud’s voice cracked. “Can you… just hold me for a bit?”

“Of course…” Sephiroth shifted around to tug Cloud closer, wrapping his arms around him and hoping it was enough. Cloud let out a relieved sigh and nestled closer, latching on to Sephiroth with something that felt far too much like desperation. They fell silent again for a bit, and Sephiroth wondered if he should say something. But after a while, Cloud started talking again.

“Hey, I’m so sorry for taking you to see your mom… Wasn’t supposed to turn out this way…” His voice was muffled against Sephiroth’s chest, but Sephiroth still caught what he was saying. While he hadn’t wanted to talk about it, he felt like he had to say something, now that Cloud had brought it up.

“You couldn’t have known that we would find her in that cave. There’s nothing for you to be sorry about.” Such a strange thing to feel guilty about. It had been an odd coincidence, nothing else… right?

“Wanted you to be happy”, Cloud murmured.

“I love you, Cloud”, Sephiroth whispered, stroking Cloud’s back. “I love you more than anything, and… just having you here with me is enough. You make me so happy.”

“…More than anything?” Cloud sounded so uncertain as he clung to Sephiroth even harder, still keeping his face firmly pressed against Sephiroth’s chest, hiding his face.

“More than anything”, Sephiroth reassured him. He meant it; he truly did. Cloud had changed his life in so many ways that there wasn’t really a way to express his gratitude with words. Thankfully, Cloud seemed content with his answer, letting out a sigh of relief and allowing his grip on Sephiroth to loosen just a little. Sephiroth lay still and listened to Cloud’s breathing until it was easy to tell he’d fallen asleep, while drifting closer and closer to sleep himself.

It was only then that Sephiroth realised that Cloud had never talked about himself after all.


	22. Cloud

Cloud woke up with feathers in his mouth and a weight pressing down on him. Upon opening his eyes, he found Sephiroth still sleeping, with his head on Cloud’s chest and all his limbs wrapped around Cloud, not including the wing, which seemed to have vanished overnight again. Sephiroth looked so perfectly content like this, as if nothing was wrong as long as he could be here, next to Cloud. Cloud ruffled Sephiroth’s hair and got a soft, sleepy little noise in response. Cute.

All those things they’d talked about last night… They made Cloud wonder why he was even doubting Sephiroth so much in the first place. There was no reason not to trust him; this Sephiroth, _his_ Sephiroth, would never hurt him. His paranoia was unfounded.

“You seem so awfully certain”, Aerith’s voice said from somewhere behind him. Oh no, not again… Cloud pointedly ignored her and shifted closer to Sephiroth. She was a hallucination, he was sure of that now – she had to be! He’d finally cracked under the stress and started hallucinating again. “But what if he finds out you lied…?”

“It’s better like this”, Cloud spat before he could help himself.

“Cloud…?” Sephiroth stirred, peering at Cloud through barely open eyes. Oh. Cloud hadn’t realised he was awake. “What are you talking about…?”

“Nothing”, Cloud said and untangled himself from Sephiroth to sit up. He refused to look Aerith’s way and couldn’t look at Sephiroth, so he settled for staring at his hands and trying to keep his breathing under control.

“No, don’t say that”, Sephiroth said and grabbed Cloud’s hands. “Something is wrong, and something was wrong yesterday as well. Please just tell me.”

In a way, this had been so much easier while he was trapped in the time loop. He hadn’t had to care about any consequences, he’d been able to say whatever he wanted… But now he actually had to think about all those things. It had all come too suddenly.

“I…” Cloud bit his lip, staring down at their entwined hands. “…I’m seeing something that isn’t really there.”

“I see…” Sephiroth murmured. Cloud finally looked up at Sephiroth, and found he had an unreadable expression on his face. “Do you have a history of hallucinating?” Reluctantly, Cloud nodded.

“…Yeah. Been a while since it last happened, though.”

“Do you take any medication for it?” Cloud shook his head. “Have you ever taken any medication for it?” Sephiroth questioned, sounding harsher this time. Cloud shook his head again, looking away from Sephiroth. This was even worse than he’d expected; he felt like he was being judged now.

“…Are you… mad at me?”

“Of course not”, Sephiroth said immediately, leaning his head into Cloud’s line of sight. He was frowning. “I’m worried.”

“He’s worried!” Aerith chimed in. “How considerate…”

“I don’t want you to be worried about me”, Cloud mumbled, trying to look away from Sephiroth again. This time, Sephiroth grabbed him by the chin to tilt his head back so that they were face to face.

“If you don’t want me to be worried, we need to get you some help”, Sephiroth said firmly. “Once things calm down, you’re going to see a medical professional about this.”

“Only if you see one too”, Cloud retorted sharply before he could hold back, unable to help going on the defensive. He watched Sephiroth grow tense and instantly regretted using that tone.

“Why should I? I’m not the one who sees things and experiences delusions about being a time traveller”, Sephiroth countered, voice eerily cool. Wait, what? Cloud’s throat clogged up, trying to register what Sephiroth had just said.

“The time travel thing was a joke, asshole!” he snapped back.

“Except it wasn’t”, Sephiroth said. Why did he still sound so calm when he was tearing apart everything Cloud had worked so hard for? “You think I can’t tell when you’re hiding something? Your joke was far too specific. It’s clear to me now that you actually think it’s the truth. And knowing you hallucinate as well, it explains your erratic behaviour.”

“What the hell, stop psychoanalysing me!” Cloud hated that for a brief moment, he’d almost begun to wonder if Sephiroth was right. Of course not! He knew what was real and what wasn’t at this point! “I’m not delusional! You’re even more fucked up than I am, you have no right to…”

There was a knock on the door, cutting him off at the worst possible time. He got a look from Sephiroth that told him that this conversation was far from over, before Sephiroth got out of bed and went to open the door.

“Surprise! We got here late last night and decided to let you guys sleep in!” Zack came bounding into the room as soon as Sephiroth opened the door, grinning at Cloud before stopping to examine the feathers scattered around the room with a raised eyebrow. “Whoa. Looks like something interesting happened here last night. Did I miss out?”

“The threesome offer still stands”, Cloud remarked dryly, finally daring to glance towards the corner of the room he’d heard Aerith’s voice come from. She was gone now.

“How did you find which room we were in?” Sephiroth asked.

“Oh, easy! I just went around and knocked on every door until I found yours!” Zack exclaimed cheerfully. “Get dressed now, lovebirds! Everyone’s waiting in the lobby! Which room is Vincent’s, by the way?”

“I’ll go get him for you. Just give me a moment”, Sephiroth said, stripped his pyjama pants off unabashedly and began to get dressed. Cloud rolled out of bed and started looking for his clothes while Zack suddenly seemed to realise he’d left the door open as he came in and leapt to close it.

Sephiroth split off from them to go get Vincent and Yuffie, which left Cloud and Zack heading for the lobby together. It was such a relief to have Zack around again. Cloud hadn’t realised how much he’d missed him over these last few days.

“You know, when we finally get this mess resolved, I’m gonna sleep for a week”, Zack declared. “But not until I’ve kicked the shit out of Genesis.”

“Mm”, Cloud agreed. Getting some sleep sounded good. Getting some sleep while knowing he would wake up and have no potential world-ending disasters to worry about sounded even better.

“Sephiroth doing okay?” Zack asked, glancing around as if to make sure that Sephiroth wasn’t there to hear it. “Over the phone it sounded like he had a pretty shit day yesterday.”

“Yeah. Don’t worry, though. I looked after him”, Cloud said, offering Zack a grin and trying to pretend that everything was fine. He had done that, after all. Sephiroth had certainly seemed to appreciate the wing massage. Zack grinned back.

“Knew you would. It’s great that you two worked things out!” They reached the lobby, where Cloud spotted Tifa talking to a blond guy with glasses whom he didn’t recognise, but he still looked vaguely familiar in the most frustrating way. “Okay, Cloud, I’ve got to introduce you!” Zack dragged him over to Tifa and the mysterious man, and suddenly Cloud found himself trapped in a handshake.

“Lazard Deusericus, former Director of SOLDIER”, the man said as he shook Cloud’s hand. Oh, of course. Zack had mentioned him over the phone, hadn’t he…? That was probably why he looked familiar. If only Cloud’s memory hadn’t been the absolute worst. “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Cloud Strife”, Cloud said, struggling to come up with an introduction that wasn’t ‘Sephiroth’s boytoy’. “I, um…”

“Ah yes. The miracle worker. Zack has mentioned you”, Lazard said, sounding amused. Miracle worker? He supposed he could go with that.

“Lazard is Rufus’s half-brother”, Zack stage-whispered. “Since he’s the President’s oldest son, we figure he has a claim to his inheritance, even if the President won’t acknowledge him.”

Yeah, that was a good point, and now Cloud finally knew why Lazard looked so oddly familiar. He turned his attention to Tifa, who eagerly approached him.

“Do you always get to go on adventures like this, Cloud? In that case, I understand why you wanted to work for Shinra!” Oh, she’d had her first taste of adventure… Her dad wouldn’t be happy. Not that Cloud particularly minded.

“It’s not usually very exciting”, he said anyway. He didn’t want her to get way too into it, after all.

“It’s _you_!” Yuffie came rushing down the stairs so quickly and suddenly that Cloud didn’t have time to process it before she was already standing in front of Zack. “What are you doing here?!”

“I think _I’m_ the one who should be asking that question! What the…” Zack cut himself off, staring at Yuffie with a bewildered expression on his face, before pointing at her accusatorily. “Hey! You stole that treasure I worked so hard to find! Give it back!”

“No way! Finders keepers!” Yuffie stuck out her tongue at him.

“You two know each other?” Cloud asked, completely taken aback. Logically, this made absolutely no sense to him. Two people he associated with completely different parts of his life, who shouldn’t in any way have been familiar with one another…

“Of course! She keeps stealing my stuff!”

“Only because you agree to go looking for the treasure to begin with, stupid!”

“I’ll have you know I put _all_ your emails in my spam folder, you little…!”

“We found Her Highness while travelling here from Nibelheim”, Sephiroth said, descending down the stairs followed by Vincent. Yuffie puffed her chest out and grinned upon being addressed. Sephiroth turned to face Lazard, expression growing into a stone cold mask instantly as he offered him a salute. “Sir.”

“At ease, Sephiroth”, Lazard said, a smile drifting across his face. “I’m not in charge of SOLDIER anymore.” He glanced at Vincent in confusion. “And you are…?”

“My father”, Sephiroth declared before anyone else could say anything.

“Not quite”, Vincent added quietly.

“Her Highness?!” Zack interjected, clearly having taken a moment to process everything. “Wait, you mean… this brat… this brat is…”

“Why’d you think I kept calling myself Treasure _Princess_? Who’re all these people anyway?”

As everyone struggled to make their identities clear to one another, Cloud got back to thinking about the Remnants and what their goal could possibly be. Jenova was in the Lifestream, so they couldn’t get to her, presumably. Would they try to follow in Sephiroth’s footsteps…?

“Yes… What could they possibly do?” Hard to ignore Aerith right now. “I don’t know either, you know. I had no idea they were even here… But I’m sure you can figure it out.”

The Black Materia. What if they summoned Meteor? Cloud practically felt his heart stop beating. He needed to get to the Temple of the Ancients, to make sure that they couldn’t get their hands on the Black Materia.

“The Lifestream flows close to the surface there as well”, Aerith pointed out. “If many individuals with Jenova cells gather in such a place, who knows what could happen…?”

Shit. Yeah, with Jenova in the Lifestream, that could potentially be a problem too. Okay, that settled it. Current goal: Temple of the Ancients. Now, how to get there…? He needed a way to convince everybody.

“Anyway!” Zack declared. “Great to meet everybody, now what do we do?”

“Those two guys who looked like Sephiroth mentioned something about a temple on an island south-east of here.” The lie left Cloud’s mouth smoothly, almost too smoothly. “Since we don’t have any other leads, we might as well check it out, right?”

“Uh, no, they didn’t!” Yuffie retorted. “I was there too, remember? They said nothing about any temples!”

“You just weren’t paying attention!” Cloud said quickly, turning to Zack in search of support, confident that it would be enough to turn things in his favour. Zack gave him a dubious look, tilting his head and clearly putting a lot of thought into Cloud’s statement.

“I don’t know… I’ve never heard of any temples…”

“The Temple of the Ancients?” Vincent spoke up. “I recall that Professor Gast mentioned something about it in his writings. It’s just an old legend, but…”

“Gast?” Sephiroth’s attention instantly perked up. “We’re going.”

“Just like that?” Zack questioned. “Wouldn’t it be smarter to just, I don’t know, think about our next move a bit?”

“Since when did you become such a strategist?” Sephiroth retorted, turning to Lazard as if awaiting permission from him. “We have no lead on Aerith and Genesis, so we might as well try to track down my doppelgangers. Not to mention that there’s little to gain for us if we stay here.” His eyes drifted around the room, clearly on guard. Cloud wondered if he expected there to be Shinra spies nearby.

“True”, Lazard agreed. “It’s better for us to stay on the move.”

Yuffie still looked like she was about to protest, so Cloud tossed his Fire Materia at her to distract her while nobody was looking, grinning at the sight of the flame it lit in her eyes. None of the guys noticed, but Tifa glanced his way and gave him a questioning look. He shrugged in response.

“I guess it’s settled, then! Let’s go to that temple!” Zack declared, clearly having been swayed by Sephiroth and Lazard. “Hey, we’re a pretty big crowd now, aren’t we? We should have a name for our group, like, um…” He scratched his head, clearly trying to come up with something.

“AVALANCHE”, Cloud said. He felt like Barret would have approved, especially since he’d somehow accidentally ended up recruiting half of the old crew anyway.

“Like the insurgents who tried to take down Shinra?” Lazard questioned, raising an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t that be confusing?”

“We share a goal with them, though!” Tifa piped up.

“It sounds cool, too!” Zack chimed in. “And you can’t deny that Sephiroth leaves you feeling like you got hit by an avalanche!”

“…I’m going to take that as a compliment”, Sephiroth said. “Regardless, I want all of you to prepare yourselves. We’ll leave as soon as you’re ready. Check out the shops and get equipment, items, whatever you think you might need. Especially you, Zack. We might have to fight.”

“Yes, sir!” Zack saluted and headed towards the exit, glancing over at Tifa and Yuffie as he passed them. “C’mon, ladies! You coming?”

“Oh, I want new gloves!” Tifa exclaimed and followed along. Yuffie pocketed Cloud’s Fire Materia and glanced over at Cloud with a calculating expression before scurrying after Zack and Tifa.

“They better have Materia too!”

“I need bullets”, Vincent murmured and trailed after them, leaving Cloud, Sephiroth and Lazard alone in the lobby.

“Director, would you go check on the helicopter? I need a moment to talk to Cloud”, Sephiroth murmured. Oh shit. Cloud kind of found himself hoping that Lazard would say no, but Lazard quickly glanced between them before nodding and heading out as well, obviously having realised that this was something he didn’t want to get caught up in. Sephiroth’s eyes focused completely on Cloud, and Cloud found himself very fascinated by the floor. He waited for Sephiroth to say something, but Sephiroth just kept watching him in silence.

“You made him angry”, Aerith whispered in his ear. “Oh, Cloud… always ruining everything…”

“…Sorry for calling you fucked up”, Cloud mumbled, unable to take the silence any longer. “I didn’t mean it.”

“You did, though. And I can’t exactly fault you for that”, Sephiroth murmured. He didn’t sound angry at all; somehow, that was even worse. “You’re right. It’s… hypocritical for me to criticise you.”

“No… No, I get it”, Cloud said and finally dared to look up at Sephiroth, who looked away the instant Cloud met his gaze. “You’re worried. Nothing wrong with that.”

“I shouldn’t have called you delusional, though. I apologise. It’s just…” Sephiroth bit his lip, eyebrows furrowing. “I want you to trust me, but I don’t know how to achieve that… and it frustrates me.”

“Well, you’re not gonna earn my trust by calling me delusional, you know.” Cloud couldn’t quite keep the sass out of his voice.

“I know. I’m… not very good at these things.” Sephiroth seemed to deflate, and he finally looked back at Cloud, an uncertain expression lingering on his face. “I want to help you. I’m worried. I’m so sorry for not expressing it in a more adept way.”

“Look, I’m not mad or anything, I just…” Cloud sighed, not sure what to say.

“I understand”, Sephiroth said and fidgeted a bit on the spot. “So, the time travel thing… It wasn’t a joke, was it?”

What was he even supposed to say to that? Cloud opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Aerith’s words echoed in his head, even though he’d tried to tell himself not to listen to her. Either he would be a liar, or Sephiroth would think he was delusional; that part was clear to him.

“I… I can’t.” He squeezed his eyes shut, as if that could somehow remove him from the situation. This made him feel sick. He could feel his hands shaking and his knees going weak. And then Sephiroth’s arms wrapped around him and carefully pulled him into an embrace.

“It’s all right”, Sephiroth whispered. “It’s all right, Cloud… You don’t have to answer right now if it’s so difficult for you…”

“I’m sorry”, Cloud choked out as he pressed his head against Sephiroth’s chest.

“I trust you, Cloud”, Sephiroth said softly. “If you want to talk about it, I’ll listen and try not to make assumptions. If you can’t, I’m going to give you space. Just know that I’ll be here for you, no matter what.” Fuck, he couldn’t take this anymore. Sephiroth had trusted him with so much and here he was, giving absolutely nothing in return!

“I’ll tell you everything, I promise”, Cloud blurted out. “But it’s a long story, so it’ll have to wait until later, I’m so sorry for hiding things from you again, don’t be mad…!” He had to stop to catch his breath and tried to pretend he wasn’t close to tears.

“Oh Cloud…” Sephiroth didn’t sound angry at all. He simply tugged Cloud closer and began to stroke his hair. “I’m not mad. I promise I’ll listen to whatever you have to say.”

“Even if it sounds insane?” Cloud mumbled and dared to look up at Sephiroth.

“Even if it sounds insane”, Sephiroth repeated, offering Cloud a warm smile before brushing his lips over Cloud’s forehead. “Look at us. Talking about our problems.” He wasn’t angry at all; he _trusted_ Cloud with this. Cloud inhaled shakily and managed to smile back at him.

“Yeah. We’re… getting better at that, aren’t we?”

“We are”, Sephiroth said softly and ruffled Cloud’s hair before letting him go. “Now, why don’t we get ready as well? Everyone else will get impatient with us… Do you need any equipment or items before we leave?”

Okay. He could calm down now. Everything was going about as well as it could be going for now, Sephiroth had promised to hear him out… He could handle this. No matter how much his own asshole brain kept telling him he couldn’t. He’d saved the world before, he could do it again!

“I want a Buster Sword!” Cloud grinned and got a frown in return.

“…Cloud.”

“Kidding, kidding…!”


	23. Aerith

Fitting into the sidecar of Kadaj’s motorcycle along with Genesis and Angie hadn’t been the easiest thing. However, falling asleep in it had been surprisingly simple. Genesis’s chest made a good pillow once he stopped shifting around every three seconds. Aerith somehow managed to sleep like a log for the entire trip; she only woke up to Kadaj shaking her awake.

“We’ve arrived! Wake up!” She cracked her eyes open to find Kadaj’s enthusiastic face staring down at her. She sat up and clambered out of the sidecar, hearing Genesis groan as she accidentally elbowed him. Taking a look at her surroundings, Aerith noted that they must’ve made it pretty far while she’d been asleep, as the area around them looked tropical. And then, she noticed the pyramid-like structure hidden among the trees.

“Oh! What’s that?” She’d never seen anything like it. Not that it was the kind of thing one would ever find in Midgar, but still…

“The Temple of the Ancients”, Kadaj said. “You’ll be able to speak to your ancestors here!” Trailing off, his gaze fell on Genesis, who was still sleeping in the sidecar. “Hey. Wake up.” He unsheathed his sword to poke Genesis with it, causing Angie, who had been sleeping at Genesis’s feet, to leap out of the sidecar with a bark.

“What?” Genesis groaned, cracking an eye open. Kadaj flashed Aerith a mischievous smirk and snapped his fingers. Instantly, the entire motorcycle vanished in a puff of smoke, sending Genesis tumbling to the ground with a yelp.

“Awake now?” Kadaj asked as Genesis scrambled to his feet with a bewildered expression on his face.

“How… how did you…?” Genesis looked from Kadaj to Aerith, gesturing at where the motorcycle had been.

“I don’t know.” Kadaj shrugged. “It’s just something I can do. There’s got to be some advantages to being a piece of a god.” Genesis clearly took a moment to process this, and finally settled for a sigh. Kadaj’s smirk only grew wider.

“Sephiroth gets god-like powers and you can summon motorcycles while I get stuck with degradation. Typical”, Genesis grumbled. Angie whined and nuzzled against his leg, and he bent down to pet him with a distant look on his face.

Aerith turned to look at the Temple again. It was hard to remember if Ifalna had ever mentioned this place in her stories – she’d been so young, after all. There was something incredibly welcoming about it, though. Even if her common sense should have told her that she definitely shouldn’t go anywhere near a mysterious ruin in the woods, she found herself desperately wanting to go inside. It was like something was calling her to come closer…

The revving of engines snapped her out of it, and she watched as two large motorcycles identical to Kadaj’s skidded to a halt in front of them. Before Aerith knew what was happening, something large, black and silver flew towards her, scooping her off the ground and up into a tight embrace.

“Mother!”

“Loz, calm down!” Kadaj chided, and Aerith’s feet were reacquainted with the ground as her assailant continued on like a whirlwind, throwing himself at Kadaj instead.

“Kadaj! We missed you!” Loz – tall and muscular next to Kadaj, short hair slicked back – was crying as he clung to Kadaj, who was trying to wriggle out of his grip. And then, once again, Loz let go and continued on, spotting Genesis. “Oh! Another big brother!”

“I’m not…” Genesis began, but too late; Loz had already dashed up to him and tugged him into a hug. Genesis let out a strangled noise and tried to escape, but stood no chance.

“And a cute puppy too!” Loz exclaimed, abandoning Genesis as quickly as he’d grabbed him in order to crouch down to pet Angie. “You’ve made so many new friends, Kadaj!”

“Genesis isn’t a friend”, Kadaj huffed. “He’s a nuisance.”

“I’ll show you who’s a nuisance, you little…!” Genesis stomped towards Kadaj, only to stop at the sound of the cocking of a gun. Aerith turned to look behind her and found a third silver-haired boy standing there, this one tall, slender and long-haired.

“Yazoo, don’t fight!” Loz yelped, voice cracking.

“Wasn’t going to”, Yazoo said and put his gun away. “As long as he doesn’t do anything stupid. And Kadaj, don’t antagonise him.”

His words actually seemed to have an effect on them; both Kadaj and Genesis crossed their arms and pointedly looked away from each other with identical frowns on their faces. In the awkward silence that ensued, Aerith cleared her throat.

“It’s nice to meet you both, Loz, Yazoo”, she said. Loz wiped tears from his face and beamed at her, and even Yazoo’s harsh, emotionless façade seemed to slip away just a little bit.

“I already told Mother about everything!” Kadaj declared proudly. “We’re going into the Temple to help Mother awaken her power!” Aerith decided that there was no point in correcting him; she hadn’t really planned to become a mother of three at seventeen, but here they were. She had to suppress a giggle at what Zack’s reaction would be if she told him that out of context.

As they began to head towards the Temple, Aerith could feel anticipation building inside her. They’d already crossed the small bridge and walked up the stairs to the entrance by the time she began to hear voices whispering to her. It was hard to make out what they were saying, but somehow, it still felt welcoming… like a homecoming.

“Did you bring the Keystone?” Kadaj asked as they stepped inside, into a room only barely lit by the torches lining the walls.

“Of course”, Yazoo said and took a rock that looked a bit like a Materia out of his pocket. Kadaj snatched it out of his grip and examined it.

“The man we took it from didn’t want to play”, Loz said. “Yazoo said I wasn’t allowed to use the Summon again, so we had to threaten him!” He sounded a little bit too excited about that, to be honest. Aerith decided not to ask.

Kadaj slotted the Keystone into the peculiar device on the altar in the middle of the room. There was a rumbling sound accompanied by a blinding light, and then Aerith felt herself sinking down, as if falling through the floor in slow-motion. And then, suddenly, they were standing in a labyrinth of pathways. The triplets were already determinedly walking forward, so Aerith followed.

“…I’m sorry”, Genesis exclaimed, as he trailed after them, voice calm but eyes wide and alarmed. “But what the _fuck_.”

“You shouldn’t swear, big brother!” Loz said cheerfully.

“I’m not your big brother!” Genesis snapped, quickly seeming to regret it when Loz gave him the biggest, saddest puppy eyes Aerith had ever seen. “I… uh…” Genesis immediately started backtracking. “I’ll be your uncle! That’s better than a big brother, right?”

“What’s an uncle?” Yazoo asked. “And how is it better?”

“No, no, no! He doesn’t get to be in the family!” Kadaj interjected. “He’s a jerk!”

“You’re a jerk too, but we haven’t kicked you out of the family yet”, Yazoo retorted. “Stop crying, Loz.”

“I’m _not crying_!” Loz said with tears in his eyes.

Aerith wasn’t sure how this had turned from a kidnapping into a weird family road trip, but she wasn’t complaining. The boys were making so much noise that they completely drowned out the voices that were whispering to her.

They made it further into the maze and up to what looked like the entrance to a deeper part of the Temple before Genesis suddenly froze. Aerith noticed immediately and stopped, while the triplets continued on for a few more steps until they seemed to notice her absence.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, noting the oddly blank gaze in Genesis’s eyes.

“I think… I’ll wait here”, Genesis wheezed. “I don’t feel well.” He sat down and piled himself up against the wall next to the mysterious entrance, and Angie was instantly there, nuzzling against his arm.

“Don’t feel well?” Aerith crouched down next to him, a bit more concerned than she would’ve liked to admit. “You sure you’ll be okay?”

“Just go have your-self-discovery already…” Genesis sighed as Angie planted himself in his lap. “My soul, corrupted by vengeance… hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey…”

“…Huh?”

“LOVELESS, Act 4”, Genesis said, rolling his eyes. “I swear, once you’ve cured my degradation, I’m taking you to see the play. Can’t have the last Cetra be so painfully uneducated, after all…”

“Only if you pay”, Aerith retorted.

“Of course I will! A gentleman always treats a lady, after all…” Genesis smirked back at her, and Aerith wondered how this horrible, awful man still somehow managed to radiate enough charisma that she couldn’t help liking him just a little bit.

“We’ll go too, Uncle!” Loz exclaimed.

“No, we won’t”, Kadaj groaned, stomping up to Aerith, clearly about to grab her to haul her along, when Genesis’s wing suddenly flared out, smacking him off his feet so that he landed on his ass with a yelp.

“Payback for the motorcycle”, Genesis grinned as Kadaj got back on his feet while glaring daggers at him. “Yazoo and Loz, you’re invited, because you’re good nephews. Kadaj isn’t.” Yazoo and Loz shared a glance that told Aerith that they were both about to ask what a nephew was, while Kadaj looked like he was on the verge of a temper tantrum.

“Okay, boys, let’s keep going!” Aerith said and clapped her hands together, catching everyone’s attention. After offering Genesis one more smile and patting Angie on the head, she marched forward, leading the way further inside. The triplets all scurried after her, nearly stumbling over their own feet to keep up.

They followed the long, dark hallway in silence until they reached a small body of water. It was so out of place that Aerith had to approach it. The whispers grew stronger as she stepped closer.

“I think this is it”, Kadaj said. “Can you hear anything, Mother?”

“Yes.” Aerith wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do next, but her feet led her forward on their own. She crouched down next to the pond, closed her eyes and did her best to listen.

The Planet didn’t seem too pleased by the company she was in. Voices whispered to her about the Calamity, but she stubbornly clung to her own beliefs. The triplets were not a threat to her, and neither was Genesis, for that matter. She was unsure if she would be able to actually convince the Planet, but her stubborn insistence seemed to get the voices to back off on the topic, finally.

_How can I fix everything?_ She focused her mind on that next. The Planet seemed to be more eager to answer that; images of rain, washing away everything unclean, filled her mind. _Great Gospel_ , the voices whispered. As if on pure instinct, she knew she would be able to use it to cleanse people from Jenova’s influence, to cure things that should be incurable…

What about the corruption in the Lifestream? How was she supposed to fix that? Maybe she could purge Jenova from this physical plane of reality, but if that dark, future version of Sephiroth remained in the Lifestream, it would all be useless, in the end. Was there anything she could do?

_Either you make it come to you_ , the Planet whispered, _or you come here to face it._

Neither of those options sounded particularly appealing. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to lure a metaphysical entity out into a physical reality, but she could assume that the result would put her in a situation where she’d have to fight something much more powerful than herself. Then there was the other option… Before she could consider the implications of that one, her ears started ringing, enough to make her wince.

_You know, it won’t make a difference in the end_ , a cold, familiar voice, rising above all the others, whispered in her ear. _I can just reset everything again, any time I like._

Aerith could barely breathe. The air around her felt freezing, all of a sudden, and all the other voices had fallen silent, as if also stifled by his presence. She opened her eyes and glanced over her shoulder, expecting to find him standing there, but there was nothing.

“Mother?” Kadaj crouched down next to her, seemingly having noticed the look of distress on her face. Aerith couldn’t bring herself to respond. She squeezed her eyes shut again, trying not to feel trapped in her own body.

_So why haven’t you done it yet?_ she thought, not even sure if he could hear.

_This timeline has become too interesting…_ Sephiroth sounded so smug and self-satisfied, completely unlike the version of him she knew. _I want to wait, so I can see the look of despair in Cloud’s eyes when I take away everything he holds dear once again._ His feelings blurred with hers at the mention of Cloud. Aerith had never experienced an emotion like this before; it felt like touching fire.

_I’ll stop you!_ Aerith tried to shake off the feeling of helplessness he was instilling in her. _No matter what it takes!_

_You and those scattered little pieces of me? I’m looking forward to seeing you try_ , he taunted her. _Whether I’m in the Lifestream or not, there’s nothing you can do. I am a god, and you are nothing._

She didn’t know what to say to that, and he clearly took pleasure from her uncertainty. Cold laughter rang in her ears before he vanished and left her reeling from the encounter. The rest of the voices returned, more urgent and overwhelming than ever.

_Holy_ , they whispered. _Holy can defeat it._ Her mother’s Materia. Aerith wasn’t sure how she knew, but suddenly she did. She could use it. Use it, defeat Sephiroth, and save everyone.

She needed a weapon. The voices pointed out that there was a staff she could use deeper in the Temple. Her legs were unsteady, but she got to her feet anyway. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Yazoo and Loz hovering around her with worried expressions.

“He was here, wasn’t he?” Yazoo whispered. “Sephiroth, I mean. I could feel him.” Aerith managed a nod, but not a word.

“Don’t be scared, Yazoo”, Loz said. His attempt to poke fun at Yazoo lost a lot of its weight because of his quivering voice. Aerith wanted to say something to console them, but a soft groan by her side caught her attention instead.

Kadaj was still crouched on the ground. When Aerith leant down to get a good look at him, she could see that he looked nauseous. They were all terrified out of their minds because of Sephiroth…

“Let’s keep going deeper into the Temple”, she declared, hoping that it’d be enough to get the party morale back up. “I… I know a way to beat him.”

“You do?” Kadaj peered up at her with a hopeful gaze. She nodded and offered him an encouraging smile before helping him get to his feet. The triplets all crowded around her and followed her lead as she started walking along the path that led deeper into the Temple.

She chose to ignore Sephiroth’s taunts and claims of superiority. If she could get into the Lifestream to confront him, maybe she had a chance after all. The problem was that she didn’t know if there was a way to get into the Lifestream that didn’t equal death.


	24. Zack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well then! Something unexpected happened since my last update! I hope everyone has had time to experience the wonderful remake demo! I look forward to this game so much <3 I can also confirm now how long this fic will be, as I'm currently working on the final chapter! ;D

Trying to cram seven people – several of them also being inconveniently tall – into a helicopter had been unpleasant, and the hours they’d spent in tense silence made Zack even more grateful to finally arrive at their destination. He was the first one to get out of the helicopter, and consequently also the first to spot the magnificent structure hidden among the trees.

“Whoa”, he exclaimed, admittedly rather caught off guard by the sight of it. He hadn’t expected that they’d actually be able to find anything. The fact that there actually was a mysterious temple here made him oddly excited, regardless of everything that had happened to get them here.

“So this place does exist after all”, Sephiroth murmured, stepping up next to him. “And it looks like we’re not alone.” Zack followed his gaze and found two motorcycles parked by the entrance.

“We should hurry.” Cloud looked incredibly jittery, and there was an urgency in his tone that definitely made Zack worried.

“Not all of us should go inside”, Sephiroth said, turning to look over their haphazard party. Zack could tell from the stern expression on his face that he’d gone into full SOLDIER mode. “It’s difficult to keep track of seven people in an unfamiliar environment, especially if we have to fight…”

“I’ll stay outside”, Lazard offered. “I won’t be of any use to you in combat, after all.”

“Vincent, Yuffie and Tifa should stay outside too”, Cloud piped up unexpectedly. “Vincent is enhanced and can take on enemies from a distance, which is more useful out here than in an enclosed environment. Yuffie can serve as his long-range back-up. Tifa is the last line of defence in case something manages to get that close.”

“Wait, what? No! I want to come inside!” Yuffie protested immediately. “I want to see if there’s treasure!” Tifa didn’t say anything, but Zack could tell from the look on her face that she wasn’t exactly happy to be ordered around like that.

“Cloud’s arguments are… reasonable”, Sephiroth said thoughtfully. “But Cloud… does that mean you’re implying that you should come inside with me and Zack?”

“Yeah.” Cloud fidgeted a bit on the spot. “I won’t get in the way. I’ll let you and Zack handle the fighting. I promise I’m not gonna get myself killed.” They stared quietly into each other’s eyes for a moment, and Zack got the feeling they were somehow communicating telepathically. Wow, what a power couple. He would have to work on that with Aerith… once he found her.

“All right. I trust you”, Sephiroth murmured. “The two of us and Zack are going inside.”

“Be careful, Sephiroth.” Vincent spoke so quietly that Zack wasn’t sure if he was imagining it at first, but Sephiroth’s nod confirmed otherwise.

“Cloud!” Tifa stomped up to Cloud, finally seeming to have gathered herself enough to speak. “I know you promised to protect me, but I can fight for myself too, you know! Stop treating me like I’m a kid!”

“I’m sorry, Tifa. I just…” Cloud seemed to have a hard time forming words. “…I just don’t want anything to happen to… to my best friend.” Tifa’s gaze seemed to soften at that, and she placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I don’t want anything to happen to you either. Be careful.” Aww, this was just so wholesome! Tifa turned to Zack and offered him a grin. “Look out for this idiot for me!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Zack gave a mock salute and trailed after Sephiroth, who was already crossing the bridge that led to the temple. Cloud hurried to catch up, and once he did, Zack caught him by hooking an arm over his shoulders and hauled him close. “You’re adorable, you know that, right?”

“Oh, shut up”, Cloud muttered and escaped from Zack’s grip.

They entered the temple, and found only a tiny room with a little altar in the middle. Okay, anticlimactic.

“Is there a hidden passage somewhere?” Zack wondered out loud.

“No doubt about it”, Sephiroth said, glancing around the room. “We should be careful. Don’t touch anything yet. There might be traps, and… Cloud, what are you doing?”

“It’s fine”, Cloud said from next to the altar, with his hand inching closer and closer to touching something. “They’ve already been here, and…” Zack didn’t catch however the sentence ended; he was too busy freaking out about how everything around them was suddenly bright white and how the ground had decided to stop existing. And then they were standing in a maze of some sort, just like that. Okay. Sure, why not? Totally normal…

“Cloud”, Sephiroth said, somehow managing to sound both exasperated and impressed. “What happened to not being reckless?”

“I wasn’t”, Cloud said with a shrug. “I knew exactly what I was doing.” And then he began to walk along the path as if he knew exactly where he was going, leaving Sephiroth and Zack with no choice but to follow. Cloud led them down the narrow pathways without hesitance, with the sort of confidence Zack only had if he had a map and a compass on hand.

“You know exactly where you’re going. You’ve been here before”, Sephiroth said after Cloud made yet another turn without even seeming to think about it. “Were we here with you that time as well?” Wait, what? Cloud was quiet for a bit. He didn’t even turn his head to look back at them, but just as Zack was about to question Sephiroth about what the hell he was saying, Cloud spoke up, albeit clearly reluctant.

“…No. I was with Aerith, and some other friends of mine.” Okay, that was the last straw.

“I’m sorry, but _what_?” Zack interjected. “Aerith hasn’t left Midgar, like, ever! And she’d never seen you before until…” He struggled to remember what Aerith had told him. Cloud had come to see her and acted like he was sad. “…what was it, maybe a little over a month ago?”

“I can’t explain it right now, Zack”, Cloud said, peering back at him with the most haunted expression Zack had ever seen on his face. He looked like he’d been to hell and back.

While Zack was still debating if it was a good idea to interrogate Cloud further, they took another turn and were met with barking. Zack could barely believe his eyes when a very familiar friendly monster came bounding towards them.

“Angie?!” he blurted out at the sight of the Angeal copy. “What are you doing here?!”

“Maybe it followed Genesis and Aerith”, Sephiroth murmured, sounding like he could barely believe it himself. “In that case, they must already be here. But why would they come here in the first place…?” Angie barked and rushed over to nuzzle Sephiroth’s leg, before turning around and sprinting back in the direction he’d come from.

“I think he wants us to follow”, Zack said, trying to ignore how fast his heart was starting to race. The three of them all followed Angie until they reached what looked like an entrance to a deeper part of the temple. Probably the place where the people who built the temple used to have all their weird religious rituals, possibly including orgies. Not that that was very interesting right now, considering how Genesis was sitting there, leaning against the wall as if he’d been awaiting their arrival.

Zack spurted towards Genesis, determined to finally punch him in his smug face like he’d been wanting to do all day. But when he got closer, that no longer seemed very appealing. Genesis wasn’t conscious, and he didn’t stir even when Zack stomped towards him. Angie, however, leapt in between them, and actually _growled_ at Zack when he tried to get closer.

“Hey, what gives?” Zack held his arms up, trying not to feel too offended. “I’m not gonna attack him if he can’t even fight back!”

“Genesis!” Sephiroth, however, was allowed to go past Angie and crouch down next to Genesis to shake him awake. He sounded concerned and anxious, and Zack felt a lump in his throat when he remembered that Genesis had been one of Sephiroth’s only friends for the longest time.

“Mm…?” Genesis cracked an eye open, lips immediately curling into a mocking smirk at the sight of Sephiroth. “And so, the hero shows himself at last.”

“Are you all right?” Sephiroth was checking him for injuries now, not seeming bothered by his attitude in the slightest. “Do you need a Curaga?”

“He doesn’t look all right”, Zack said, immediately earning himself a glare from Genesis.

“I’m _dying_ , you dimwit!” Genesis snapped. “A Curaga won’t help!”

“Don’t be so dramatic”, Sephiroth mumbled. “The degradation appears to be killing you too slowly for you to be actively considered dying, and…”

“Oh yes, I definitely need your reassurance, Sephiroth, thank you”, Genesis drawled sarcastically. Cloud, who’d been lingering behind them, finally stepped up next to Zack, and Genesis’s eyes narrowed at the sight of him. “Oh, _great_. Of course you’re here too.”

“Fuck you too”, Cloud said. “I just wanna tell you that the shit you pulled in the reactor was way out of line. You really hurt Sephiroth. Also, where’s Aerith?”

“In there somewhere. With your three little silver-haired friends”, Genesis replied dismissively, turning his attention back to Sephiroth, clearly more interested in him right now. “Hurt, you say? Did I make poor little Sephiroth cry?”

Sephiroth tensed up, and for a moment, Zack expected anger from him. But then, Sephiroth just let out a dismayed sigh.

“I don’t understand why you act so antagonistic towards me. Can you please explain?”

“…What?” Genesis looked utterly dumbfounded for a moment, before his expression shifted into a furious one. “You must be kidding! You did _nothing_ to help me and Angeal!”

“I wanted to help, but I…” Sephiroth’s voice cracked. “…I was scared. And you left me.”

“Scared?” Genesis exclaimed incredulously. “You’re Sephiroth! You don’t get scared! Why didn’t you just come after us, then?!”

“Because you _left me_ ”, Sephiroth repeated. “You and Angeal were all I had, and you left me behind without even asking if I wanted to come with you! I…” He took a deep, shaky breath. “I have always been terrified of being abandoned, ever since I was a child. You… you hurt me so deeply, when you left.” The lump in Zack’s throat was getting more and more noticeable. He crouched down to pet Angie, trying not to feel like he was listening in on something he wasn’t supposed to hear.

“You…” Genesis paused, looking like he wasn’t quite able to handle everything Sephiroth had just dropped on him. When he spoke again, his voice was a lot softer. “You never told us that.”

“I didn’t realise it was abnormal”, Sephiroth mumbled, sounding almost ashamed to admit it. “As you know, I… I had a very traumatic upbringing, and it has left me somewhat… emotionally stunted.”

“You’ve never wanted to talk about it before.” Genesis still seemed completely taken aback by the turn this conversation had taken. Zack couldn’t really blame him. “I assumed you were just a very unemotional person… but Angeal, he was… always really worried about you.” He made a soft noise that seemed like the middle-road between a laugh and a sob. “If I hadn’t become a monster…”

“You’re not a monster, Genesis”, Sephiroth murmured. “And neither am I.”

“Of course we’re monsters!” Genesis snarled suddenly, causing both Zack and Angie to jump. “I killed so many people! I dragged everyone else down into hell with me!”

“You’re very unwell”, Sephiroth said quietly. “That doesn’t make you a monster.” Genesis’s face fell. “I should have tried harder to help you. I’m sorry for being a bad friend.”

“No… I’m the one who should be sorry.” Genesis curled into a ball, visibly trembling now. “It just… hurts so much, all the time, and everything feels so hazy that I barely know what I’m doing… I miss Angeal so much, it feels like he took part of me with him when he…” He trailed off, pressing his head against his knees.

“Genesis… Is it all right if I give you a hug?” Sephiroth asked hesitantly. Genesis peered up at him with a miserable expression and nodded. Sephiroth immediately shifted closer and tugged Genesis into a hug, which made Genesis uncurl and wrap himself around Sephiroth with so much desperation that it was hard to buy that he’d seemed so angry at him moments ago. It was so obvious that the loss of Angeal still haunted them. Not that Zack could blame them; he couldn’t claim that he’d moved on, either.

Sephiroth turned to look at Zack suddenly, which was jarring, given how long he’d been completely focused on Genesis.

“Zack, are you crying?”

“Huh?” Zack was about to deny it, only to realise that a couple of tears had managed to escape his eyes. “I… I guess I am.”

Before he could react properly, Sephiroth was tugging him into the hug as well. Zack allowed it to happen – it wasn’t like he’d ever say no to a hug – and Angie seemed to take it as an invitation as well, scrambling forward to fit in between Zack and Genesis. For a moment, they were all quiet, giving each other some room to breathe.

“It’s just not the same… without Angeal”, Sephiroth murmured. “But… if he was here, I think he’d be lecturing us right about now.”

“Oh yes…” Genesis let out a half-hearted snort. “I think we lost our honour and dreams somewhere down the line.”

“Hey, I haven’t even done anything wrong!” Zack declared, bumping his head against Sephiroth’s shoulder-pad. “You two are the ones being stupid and bad at talking to each other so that Genesis has to go around kidnapping people’s girlfriends to… what were you trying to do anyway?” He wriggled out of the hug to get a better look at Genesis.

“She’s a Cetra”, Genesis mumbled. “I thought she might be able to cure me, but she didn’t know how.” He narrowed his eyes and gave Zack a suspicious look. “Wait, how did you get here? The triplets didn’t lead you here, so…”

“The triplets?” Zack had no idea what the hell Genesis was going on about, but that just added a sense of normalcy to this weird situation. “No, we got here with Cloud’s help…” He expected Cloud to have cut in at this point. Actually, Cloud had been oddly quiet for a while now…

“Cloud?” Sephiroth questioned sharply, seeming to have had the same realisation. He let go of Genesis and began to frantically look around, eyes widening. Zack did the same thing and immediately understood why Sephiroth’s expression had grown so concerned so quickly. Cloud was nowhere to be seen.


	25. Cloud

Cloud ran like hell. He needed to get to Aerith before the Remnants could hurt her. There was no way he could live with himself if he allowed anything to happen to her on his watch again. This time he’d do it right. This time he’d save her, no matter who or what tried to stop him.

He knew the way; despite his jumbled mess of memories, he’d always been decent at remembering directions. This place had left quite a lasting impression on his first visit anyway… His feet led the way on autopilot, while he prepared his rifle and checked that he still had his Materia.

As he spurted into the weird room with the clock, he had to stop for a moment to think. Presumably, leaving the clock hands as they were and marching right over was the most logical thing to do here… unless the Remnants knew they had a pursuer and had stopped on purpose to adjust the clock hands before continuing? His heart was racing, he didn’t know what to do, this was wasting his time and it was getting hard to breathe…

He didn’t need to decide, in the end. Kadaj exited the room on the other end of the clock, immediately tensing up at the sight of Cloud. For a moment, they stared at each other, frozen in place. Then, Cloud pointed his rifle at him.

“Where’s Aerith?” he demanded, quietly wondering where Kadaj’s brothers were. Hopefully they weren’t waiting to ambush him…

“Big brother”, Kadaj said, eyes widening as he tried to take a step closer. “Don’t worry, put your weapon down, we weren’t…” Cloud fired a warning shot, and Kadaj quickly stepped back again, unfortunately not stumbling and falling off down into the dark abyss below.

“You think I won’t shoot?!” Cloud snapped, feeling increasingly desperate. “What the fuck do you want with her?!”

“It’s all right, big brother!” Loz made his way out of the same cavern Kadaj had exited from, hands raised in surrender. “We’re not trying to hurt her!”

“Cloud?” Aerith peered out from behind Loz, a confused expression on her face. “What are you doing here?” Cloud let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding in. She was unharmed – for now, at least. He noticed Yazoo lingering behind Loz as well, which meant that he’d have to watch out; Yazoo was a gun user, after all.

“None of you three move a muscle, or I _will_ shoot.” Cloud tried to keep his voice from sounding too unsteady. He wouldn’t, not with the risk of hitting Aerith, but they didn’t need to know that. “Aerith, come over here. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

“There’s nothing to worry about, Cloud”, Aerith said and slipped past Loz to step out onto the clock hand behind Kadaj. She was carrying the Princess Guard, the staff Cloud now recalled they’d also found on that very path the first time around. “You don’t need to point any weapons at them…”

“They’re dangerous”, Cloud said, unable to keep his voice steady this time. He had to look incredibly unhinged, considering the concerned look he got from Aerith. “Kadaj, get out of her way.”

“This is a misunderstanding”, Yazoo said. “Big brother, you…”

“Let me do the talking”, Kadaj said confidently. “We’re on your side, you jerk! You don’t even know what’s going on! Let us explain…”

“I won’t listen to any explanations from you!” Cloud retorted. He wasn’t going to fall for it. Not when he’d made it this far.

“It’s going to be all right, Cloud. I’m going to put an end to everyone’s suffering”, Aerith said softly. “You’ve been trying so hard to save everyone, and you’ve done so well. Let me take care of the rest.”

“What? No, that’s not…” Cloud stumbled over his own words. This made absolutely no sense. And worst of all, her words were an eerie mimicry of what she’d told him before marching to her own death. “I won’t let you get hurt, not again!”

“Oh Cloud”, Aerith’s voice echoed from behind him. Dammit, not the hallucination, not now…! “Nothing ever goes your way… She was always meant to die because of me, you know.”

Before he could process those words properly, he watched Aerith, the real one, turn pale as her eyes widened in shock and fear; the kind of expression he’d never wanted to see on her face ever again.

“Cloud…” Her voice cracked, and she clearly struggled to get the words out. “Behind you…” Cloud’s brain skidded to a halt, before kick-starting up again and hurling a bunch of thoughts at him at the speed of light. Aerith could see it. That meant… it wasn’t a hallucination after all.

“You… You can see her too?” Cloud stuttered, trying to process what the hell this meant.

“Her?” Aerith shook her head, shock turning into despair. “Cloud, that’s not…”

“Oh, how I’ve waited for this reunion…”

That voice… It was no longer Aerith’s. Had it ever really been Aerith’s at all? Cloud spun around and finally, they were standing face to face. While it still looked like Aerith, that predatory smirk and those eyes, too green with slit pupils… it was all wrong. Before Cloud’s eyes, its appearance shifted until it no longer looked like Aerith at all.

“…Sephiroth.” What the fuck? It _was_ Sephiroth, the _wrong_ Sephiroth, watching Cloud with the same smirk that had haunted Cloud’s nightmares for years. A wind that didn’t exist kept his hair and coat in constant motion, making him look exactly as he had when Cloud had last fought him, during the Geostigma crisis. Cloud couldn’t breathe, and he felt like his heart had stopped too. “So it was you… all along.”

Who was he kidding? Of course it was Sephiroth; it was always Sephiroth. He heard commotion behind him; Cloud presumed Sephiroth’s appearance had been a shock to the Remnants as well. But it was hard to keep his mind on other things while in Sephiroth’s presence – even without Jenova cells, his otherworldly aura drew Cloud in like nothing else could.

“Finally, you see through the illusion you made for yourself”, Sephiroth purred. “You’ve always been so good at seeing only what you want to see and nothing else. Poor little puppet.”

Cloud pointed his rifle at him and fired. The bullets went right through him, and Sephiroth’s smirk only grew wider.

“It’s a pity you couldn’t be my puppet this time around. I tried making Zack mine instead, you know – in the caverns below Banora, I tried to call him to Reunion, but he resisted. Wouldn’t that have been wonderful? The look of despair on your face to see my eyes gazing back at you from your best friend’s face…”

“Go to hell”, Cloud hissed.

“Still so ungrateful. I’ve allowed you to play in this timeline even when your 52 days were up, and this is how you repay me?”

“You… You caused the time loop”, Cloud stuttered. “But… why?” He should have realised the moment he discovered the Remnants were involved; how could he ever have doubted his Sephiroth…?

“ _Your_ Sephiroth”, Sephiroth mocked. “Of course that’s how you see him! He’s your puppet as much as you are mine. Stringing him along under false pretences, manipulating him into what you want him to be… I never knew a bleeding heart could be so cruel, Cloud.”

“Shut up”, Cloud snapped. No point in protesting. Sephiroth was trying to goad him into it and Cloud wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. “What do you want?!”

“The same thing I’ve always wanted, Cloud”, Sephiroth purred. “To burn the world to ashes while you watch. Now that I no longer have the element of surprise on my side, why don’t we get started?” He strode towards Cloud and slipped through him like air, sending a chill down Cloud’s spine. Cloud turned around and found Sephiroth standing on the pillar in the centre of the room. He could see Aerith and the Remnants on Sephiroth’s other side; they were all frozen in place, staring at Sephiroth as if entranced by his presence.

“Don’t hurt them”, Cloud said immediately. “Kill me first if you have to.” In response, Sephiroth began to laugh; his hauntingly familiar laughter reminded Cloud of what exactly he was up against.

“But then you wouldn’t be able to watch, would you?” Sephiroth replied. “Maybe I should just reset everything again first… and let this anomaly of a timeline be wiped away.” The panic on Cloud’s face must’ve been obvious, because Sephiroth laughed again. “No… I think I like this better. I want you to keep looking at me like you wish I was the man you love.”

“Sephiroth”, Cloud said, desperately trying to formulate a plan. He couldn’t take Sephiroth in a fight, so words were the only thing at his disposal. “Don’t do this! I’ll do anything…”

“Anything?” He hadn’t known it was possible for Sephiroth’s expression to turn even more vicious. “Then… you can start with getting on your knees and begging me to stop.”

While he’d had the strength to back it up, Cloud had been able to afford being a proud man. But right now, unenhanced, with legs shaking so much he could barely even stand anyway, dropping his rifle, abandoning the last bits of pride he had and getting on his knees was almost too easy. The begging came just as easily, with the addition of tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

“Please”, he choked out, squeezing his eyes shut and attempting to stop tears from falling. “Please, Sephiroth, stop! Don’t hurt my friends, I don’t want to do this anymore…!”

“That’s right.” Sephiroth’s voice sounded like it was coming from everywhere at once. “I’ve always liked you best like this. A broken puppet, kneeling before its master.”

“Cloud, don’t listen!” Aerith yelled suddenly. “He’s not actually here, he’s just an apparition! He’s still trapped in the Lifestream without a physical body! I think he can’t actually hurt anyone, the only thing he can do is keep resetting!”

Cloud looked up at her, saw her hopeful face and wanted to yell back that it really didn’t make things any better. Resetting everything now would leave him so much more alone than ever before; there was practically no difference between the two options because he would lose it all regardless. However, Sephiroth cut in before he could say anything.

“Yes, that has been the case previously, but Cloud changed something this time around…” His eyes flashed dangerously, and Cloud suddenly remembered exactly what he’d thrown into the Lifestream that wasn’t supposed to be there. And then Sephiroth vanished.

“Fuck.” Cloud got to his feet immediately, stumbling over to Aerith and grabbing her shoulders for support. “I threw Jenova’s body into the Lifestream.”

“You threw it into the Lifestream?!” Kadaj shrieked in a far too shrill voice. “Sephiroth has used the Calamity’s body to get around before! You gave him a way to manifest, you idiot!” Yazoo and Loz weren’t saying anything, but Cloud could see them clinging to each other for support, and quickly decided to just roll with them being on his side. He had other things to worry about… Right. When AVALANCHE had chased Sephiroth around the world, he’d been using Jenova’s body.

“Well, shit, I didn’t know my least favourite person ever was lurking in there!” Cloud countered, before concluding that they really needed to stop wasting time quarrelling about this and… what? Was there even anything they could do right now?

“Cloud!” Sephiroth stormed in through the pathway Cloud had entered through out onto the clock hand, and Cloud’s heart nearly stopped until he saw the fear on Sephiroth’s face that quickly turned into relief as their eyes met. The Remnants all yelped, and Cloud quickly turned to soothe them before they accidentally caused any more unnecessary trouble.

“It’s okay, he’s… he’s the nice one.” They looked unconvinced, but Cloud couldn’t bring himself to care. He stumbled towards Sephiroth, who now looked more confused than anything else, and threw his arms around him. Sephiroth’s arms immediately wrapped around him as well, without hesitation.

“What’s wrong, Cloud? Did something happen?” Sephiroth asked. Cloud pressed his head into the crook of Sephiroth’s neck, yearning for safety that felt tainted by the recent events.

“Aerith!” Zack’s voice echoed from behind Sephiroth, and untangling himself a bit, Cloud found him trying to get past Sephiroth to reach her. “You okay?!”

“Hi Zack!” Aerith waved at him. “I’ve decided to adopt, I hope you don’t mind being a father of three!” In unison, the Remnants moved from watching Sephiroth intently to focusing their gazes on Zack instead. Cloud could practically see on Zack’s face how hard his brain was working to catch up with this.

“There’s no time to mess around”, Kadaj declared. “Everything could be reset at any time, and…”

“He’s not resetting”, Cloud said. Sephiroth had revealed himself for a reason. There was no way he was going to simply reset everything instantly when he had an opportunity to drag things out. Cloud couldn’t take this. Everything was going to fall apart again as he watched, because no matter what, nothing in his life could ever just be good and stay like that…!

“Cloud, you’re shaking”, Sephiroth murmured. Cloud tried to meet his gaze, but it made him feel even more like he was about to fall apart. “Aerith, what happened?” Sephiroth demanded, clearly having realised that he wasn’t getting any answers from Cloud.

“Um”, Aerith said. “Long story…”

“Maybe we should get out of here first.” Genesis was here now too, apparently, stepping up next to Zack on unsteady legs while the Angeal copy trailed after him. “There are a lot of things you need to hear. My friend, the fates are cruel…”

A distant rumble that grew louder and louder cut Genesis off. It sounded like it was coming from below them somewhere.

“Uh oh”, Zack said, tilting forward to peer down into the darkness below them. “That doesn’t sound good.”

As if on cue, an eruption of Mako surged up from the abyss, turning the entire room into a Mako fountain. There was a chorus of yelps from all around him, but even with the commotion they caused along with the constantly rushing Mako, Cloud could still hear something moving down there. Something large.

“We need to get out of here”, Sephiroth said, before suddenly letting go of Cloud. Cloud nearly lost his balance and looked up at Sephiroth, feeling a cold weight pressing down on his chest when he saw that Sephiroth’s expression had gone completely blank. Shit. He knew that look.

“Sephiroth?” he whispered, his voice feeling pathetically small under the sound of the Mako pumping and of whatever was down there, slowly coming closer and closer. Sephiroth didn’t respond; he was completely frozen, staring out into space.

“Guys?” Aerith’s voice cut in, and when Cloud took a quick look around them, he realised that he and Aerith were the only ones not frozen. Sephiroth, the Remnants, Zack, Genesis… Hell, even the Angeal copy! Something Jenova-related, no doubt. Shit, he had a feeling that this was going to get ugly fast unless he managed to find a way to do something about it.

“Stay alert”, he told Aerith and – oh fuck. He could see something moving in the Mako now, climbing up the walls… something with tentacles.

“What do we do?” Aerith asked, voice shaky. They were both trapped on the clock; Sephiroth blocking the way on Cloud’s side and the Remnants on Aerith’s. Cloud picked his rifle up, since it was somehow miraculously still there, and became urgently aware of just how weak he was and how inexperienced Aerith was at this point in time.

Jenova’s body, soaked in Mako, rapidly mutating into a mess of tentacles and feathers, crawled up from below. Cloud stepped closer to Aerith, hoping to at least be able to protect her while fully expecting either the Remnants or Sephiroth to try to attack them.

 _“How about this, Cloud?”_ The voice sounded like Sephiroth’s, but it was distorted, just plain wrong somehow, and it left Cloud’s ears ringing. _“Let me take away what you cherish most.”_

Before Cloud could process what was happening, Jenova’s tentacles lashed and sent out shockwaves which struck the Remnants on one side of the room and Genesis, Zack and the Angeal copy on the other. They were all flung off the clock hands and, thankfully, landed on the various spots of solid ground around the room instead of falling down into the Mako that still continued gushing from below.

“Haven’t you taken enough?!” Cloud snapped. He was terrified out of his mind, but at the same time, he was starting to accept where this was going, and it made him furious.

The tentacles once again moved too swiftly for him to react in time. One struck Aerith in the chest and sent her flying across the room – Cloud was briefly relieved that she didn’t end up tumbling down into the Mako either, but his attention was quickly stolen away once again.

“Cloud…!” Sephiroth – _his_ Sephiroth, snapped out of his trance – was choking out as Jenova’s tentacles wrapped tighter around him, lifting him into the air and squeezing his throat.

“Oh no. No, you fucking don’t!” Cloud cast the strongest Blizzaga he could muster, freezing the tentacles and causing them to drop Sephiroth, who nearly lost his balance as he landed on the clock hand once again. Somehow, Cloud managed to stumble forward enough to grab his hands, pulling him up onto the centre of the clock.

Sephiroth seemed to go into combat mode instantly, even though he must have been horribly disoriented by this entire thing. He allowed Cloud to pull him up, and then quickly spun around to face Jenova, casting what Cloud quickly realised was the most well-aimed, powerful Thundaga he’d ever seen. It cleaved all of Jenova’s tentacles right off, leaving Sephiroth able to shoot off another directly against the main body. It was enough to send the abomination falling right back down into the abyss it had come from.

“Holy shit”, Cloud wheezed and turned to face Sephiroth, heart racing so fast that he felt like it was about to burst out of his chest. “You okay?!”

Sephiroth nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but jerked suddenly, clutched his head, and collapsed to his knees in front of Cloud with a groan.


	26. Sephiroth

There was something in his head that didn’t belong there. Sephiroth wasn’t sure how he identified the ringing in his ears and the suddenly oncoming headache as such, but by the time he tumbled to his knees in front of Cloud, he already knew something was horribly wrong.

“Sephiroth?” Cloud, pale and shaken, knelt down next to him. “You okay?”

“How could you, Cloud?” he heard his own voice say, completely without his consent. “You lied to me. I trusted you.”

“…What?” Cloud looked confused, but Sephiroth could see the hint of fear in his eyes.

“You lied”, his mouth continued accusing Cloud. “You promised me that we weren’t going to hide anything important from each other. When were you going to tell me what you managed to stop me from doing in Nibelheim?”

In his mind’s eye, Sephiroth could see fire. He tried to block the unfamiliar sensation out, but whatever unfamiliar force had managed to infiltrate his head was just too overwhelming.

_This happened._ It wasn’t his own thought; it felt too foreign, too jarring, but it still came from within his own mind and that was absolutely terrifying. _We did this, and Cloud watched it happen._

“No!” Cloud’s expression shifted into the most desperate, frightened look Sephiroth had ever seen on his face. “Please don’t say that! I… I was just trying to protect you! I didn’t mean to…!”

“I was supposed to set Nibelheim on fire.” Sephiroth tried to stop himself from speaking but it was impossible. He had no control over his own body; he felt like a puppet on a string. “I was going to kill everyone. Did you really think your pretend love could keep me from finding out?”

Nibelheim burning. That was what that unfamiliar memory trying to force itself into his head was. But that had never happened – so why did it feel like it had? Other memories flashed through his mind. Drowning in Mako, being enveloped in crystal, Aerith’s body impaled on his sword… A meteor covering the sky. He felt sick, but there was nothing he could do. The visions flooded into his head until he could barely tell what was real and what wasn’t.

_He killed us_ , the voice inside his head said, and followed it up with a vision of the Buster Sword piercing his heart, Cloud’s hateful eyes staring at him as he bled out. _Cloud killed us over and over again. This is just returning the favour._

“I’m not pretending! How can you say that?!” Cloud choked out. “You haven’t done any of it, so it’s not your fault! I fixed things!”

Cloud had stopped him. Cloud had changed things, because he’d known what was about to happen. Because he was a time traveller. Sephiroth wished he didn’t have to find out like this; he’d wanted to know the truth but not at the cost of having to see that look in Cloud’s eyes.

“You’re awful, Cloud.” He tried to force his mouth shut, tried to bite down on his tongue, but not a single muscle in his body would obey. “You love the image of me you’ve made up in your own mind… not the monster I truly am!” He hated the way those words made him feel, because he was trying so hard to not be a monster, for Cloud’s sake, and now something monstrous within him was making him say things like this…

_Yes… You’re a monster_ , the voice continued inside Sephiroth’s own head. _Cloud tries to fool himself, but he doesn’t understand us. He could never understand._

“That’s not true”, Cloud whispered, his expression softening. “I don’t know why you’re acting like this, but you’re not a monster. I’ve comforted you after nightmares, I’ve held you when you cried, I’ve seen just how lonely you were before you met me… I know better than anyone else how human you are.”

_Don’t listen to him. He doesn’t mean a thing to you. He’s utterly insignificant._

No. No, that wasn’t right at all. Cloud meant the world to him. He’d sworn to protect Cloud but once again, he was the one endangering him… This thing inside his head wanted to hurt Cloud, wanted to ruin him in every way, and Sephiroth could feel those emotions starting to seep into his own.

“I’m going to hurt you”, it hissed through Sephiroth’s teeth. “You were never supposed to have me, Cloud.”

It was horrifying to watch Cloud’s expression growing even softer and unguarded. Sephiroth’s heart was racing. Cloud thought it was him saying these things and not this vicious, hateful thing that had stolen his mouth; his pity was misplaced, his…

…His hand was touching Sephiroth’s cheek. His thumb brushed over Sephiroth’s cheekbone, up to the corner of his eye in a soothing, comforting gesture. The touch made him instinctively want to pull away, yet he also found himself yearning for more; the worst part was that Sephiroth couldn’t tell if the feelings were his own or not anymore.

“You think I don’t know that?” Cloud whispered. “Of course this wasn’t supposed to happen, but it _did_ , and I can’t just sit here and watch you say those horrible things. I love you, and I might be moments from losing you…” His breath hitched, and something painful made itself known in Sephiroth’s chest. “Please don’t say things like that. Not right now.”

Cloud’s words added fuel to the fire. It was enough, at least for a moment.

“Don’t… listen!” Sephiroth managed to choke out. “It’s… not me!”

Cloud pulled away as if he’d been electrocuted. His expression shifted from concern to horror to outright anger, and then he grabbed Sephiroth by his collar and pulled him in, shaking with barely contained fury.

“Sephiroth!” Cloud hissed his name with so much hatred far too easily. “Let him go! Let my boyfriend go, you bastard!”

“You can never tell when it’s me…” His own voice sounded so sleazy yet so uncaring that it made Sephiroth feel sick. “Haven’t you missed me even a little bit, Cloud? Don’t tell me you haven’t thought of me once while messing around with…”

“Shut up!” Cloud snapped. “What the fuck is wrong with you?! Give him back!”

“Maybe if you give me a kiss…” The smirk his lips were curling into felt unnatural and wrong. “I want to know what it feels like.”

Cloud punched him in the face. Sephiroth couldn’t blame him, honestly, and the pain was just one more tether that reminded him that this was _his_ body.

“That’s the closest thing you’re getting”, Cloud snapped, fuming.

“You’re so ungrateful… I crawled my way out of the Lifestream to come see you in person, and this is my welcome?” Sephiroth could taste blood on his lips. The imposter licked it off with a laugh. “You’re awfully daring, for someone who can’t take me in a fight.”

“I have nothing left to fear.” There was a fire burning in Cloud’s eyes, but Sephiroth wondered how much longer it would take for it to turn into ashes. “First you took me away from the happiness I’d found after years of struggle. Then you put me through hell over and over again by trapping me in the time loop. And now… now that I finally dared to try to be happy again, you came back again to ruin everything! Fuck off!”

Sephiroth couldn’t watch this. It was too painful, knowing that this thing inside him was clearly just toying with Cloud at this point. He could barely think coherently by now, his mind full of horrific visions of a future that was too much to bear.

_You’re pathetic. You don’t need him. Did he really turn us into his mindless puppet so easily?_

No. That wasn’t right at all. Sephiroth could feel unknown words forming on his tongue again, and this time, he bit down on his own lip and forced his mouth shut. He wasn’t anyone’s puppet and didn’t want to be, but if he was, then he’d rather be Cloud’s than anyone else’s. His uninvited guest reacted to that with fury so overwhelming that it made Sephiroth’s head spin.

“Sephiroth?” Cloud’s voice quickly grew hesitant again.

Sephiroth’s head felt too muddled for him to determine what was happening. There were too many sensations, too much going on in his head all at once; his hands came up to clutch his head, but he wasn’t sure if it was his own doing or not. It hurt. The compulsion to beg Cloud for help was outmatched only by his need to get as far away from Cloud as possible; he was inevitably going to end up hurting him like this!

“Cloud…” he managed to choke out. “I’m… sorry…”

“It’s not your fault!” Cloud’s voice felt so distant, at this point. “C’mon, Sephiroth, you’ve got to keep fighting, don’t let him control you…!”

_You will surrender eventually. You’re too human, too weak. No matter how hard you try, you can’t defeat a god._

It was true. Sephiroth knew he couldn’t keep this up for much longer. He felt like a stranger in his own body, and every time he attempted to move, it was met with excruciating pain and even more visions of a life he’d never lived.

Maybe it was sheer desperation that gave him the idea, or maybe it had been at the back of his mind all along from the moment he felt something was off. It was a drastic measure, and it wasn’t like he _wanted_ to do it, but he was too dangerous like this, with this foreign thing wearing his skin. He wasn’t strong enough to overcome it, so this was only the most strategical, logical conclusion.

He just needed a brief moment of control. Struggling with all his might, he managed to get his body to move, to stand up. He felt confusion that clearly wasn’t his own, and found himself smiling, triumphant yet desperate. Cloud was still on his knees before him, small and terrified, looking up at Sephiroth as if he wasn’t sure whether he should be hopeful or heartbroken. Sephiroth felt a pang of regret for what he was about to do.

“I’m sorry”, he repeated and jerked his gaze off Cloud, unable to look him in the eye. There were so many other things he wanted to say, but there was no time, not with that voice screaming in his head and trying to take back control.

All it took was one step to the side, off the narrow clock hand that had been the only thing between him and the boiling pit of Mako, and then he was falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY, HE'S NOT ACTUALLY DEAD I PROMISE


	27. Zack

Zack hadn’t been able to move a muscle for the past few minutes, but he’d still seen everything that had happened. When Sephiroth fell, it was as if reality snapped back into place. Suddenly, he could move again; he wasted no time in getting to his feet but didn’t get any further before he had to stop and try to assess the situation.

Sephiroth. Sephiroth had fallen. Mako was flooding the room faster now; they needed to get out of here. Cloud was still on his knees at the centre of the clock, alive but clearly in shock. Zack heard Genesis getting to his feet behind him and could see those three teens that looked like Sephiroth doing the same on the other side of the room. And then there was Aerith, who’d been thrown into the wall by that monster and was now lying unmoving on the ground.

“Aerith!” Zack called, unable to keep his voice from cracking. There was just too much going on right now, but he needed to make sure she was all right, at least. He spurted and leapt over the Mako to get to the platform she was on, crouched down next to her and quickly discovered that she was still breathing, much to his relief. He cast Curaga on her and was even more relieved to see that she immediately stirred, sitting up so quickly that she nearly headbutted him.

“What…?” Aerith looked dizzy and confused but seemed otherwise unharmed, automatically reaching out for the staff lying next to her.

“We need to get out of here!” Genesis called as a rumbling sound echoed from above them. Yeah, no, he wasn’t staying here for a cave-in. Zack scooped Aerith up into his arms, even despite her startled yelp, and leapt back over to Genesis, passing her off to him before turning his attention to Cloud, rushing over the clock hand to get to him.

“C’mon Cloud, we’ve got to get out of here!” he yelled, trying not to think about what must have happened to Sephiroth. He had a choice to make now, and while he felt absolutely horrible about it, there was nothing he could do for Sephiroth in this short span of time, and he knew Sephiroth would have wanted him to prioritise everyone else’s safety. But Cloud didn’t move, not even when Zack reached him.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” His voice was completely emotionless, his expression completely blank. “Everything’s gonna reset soon anyway. It’s over.”

He had to be in shock or something. Zack reached out to touch him, but Cloud drew back, curling in on himself. A rock fell from above, splashing down into the Mako, and it became apparent that this place wasn’t going to last much longer.

“Big brother! Snap out of it! We can’t stay here!” the smallest Sephiroth-lookalike – the one who reminded Zack of Genesis somehow – snapped as he approached from Cloud’s other side. “Loz, pick him up.”

“Kay.” The biggest of the three nodded and lifted Cloud up and tossed him over his shoulder. Cloud didn’t even try to resist. Zack took it as a sign to start running; he turned on his heel and made sure that all of them were following. Aerith, Genesis and Angie ran on ahead, and they all managed to get out of the room into the more open area outside it before the opening they’d come through caved in.

“Fuck”, Zack choked out, feeling his legs give in. He sat down on the floor, trying to remember how to breathe. Sephiroth. Sephiroth was…

“What happened?” Aerith asked in a small voice. “Where’s Sephiroth?”

“He… he fell. Into the Mako.” Zack was glad Genesis had the strength to say it, because he wasn’t sure he could have. It just made it feel all too real.

“Hey, he’s… he’s used to Mako, right?” Zack tried desperately to lighten the mood; they couldn’t just give up hope like this! “Sephiroth’s a tough guy, he can take it! Right?” When there was no response from Genesis, Zack turned his head to look at him, only to have his hopes crushed by the resigned expression on Genesis’s face.

“Not like that. No matter how enhanced you are, your body can’t take that much raw Mako.” Genesis collapsed into a sitting position as well, Angie immediately coming up to nuzzle his face with a miserable whine. Zack could see it in his eyes – Genesis had already given up.

“I could… try to check if I can feel him in the Lifestream”, Aerith suggested shakily. “But the Planet… it seems so angry now, I don’t… I don’t think I could tell.”

Zack wanted to celebrate that he’d finally been reunited with her, wanted to give her a tight hug and kiss her breathless, but it wouldn’t feel right. Not right now. Genesis had moved to wrap his arms around Angie now, his head pressed down against Angie’s wing so that Zack couldn’t see his face. And Cloud. Shit, he’d forgotten all about Cloud for a moment…!

The Sephiroth lookalikes were hovering around but not quite daring to approach Cloud, who was seated on the ground and staring at the sealed-off entrance into the clock room. Zack marched over there and found his path blocked by the tiniest of the three.

“Kadaj, don’t pick a fight”, the one with the longest hair said, sounding exhausted. “He’s big brother’s friend, remember?”

“Shut up, Yazoo! I’m not picking a fight”, Kadaj huffed and turned his attention back to Zack, glaring at him as he stepped out of the way. “Comfort big brother. Now.” By big brother, Zack assumed Kadaj wasn’t referring to the biggest one of the three – Loz, was it? – who looked incredibly anxious, but Cloud, since that was the direction all three pairs of eyes drifted towards.

“Cloud?” Zack stepped closer carefully, crouching down next to Cloud, wondering if he should touch him or not. “You…” He swallowed nervously. “You okay there, buddy?”

“Go away”, Cloud mumbled. “He’s gonna reset soon… He should’ve done it already. Any moment now…”

“Hey…” Zack hesitantly reached out and placed a hand on Cloud’s shoulder. “I’m… I’m sorry, Cloud.” He couldn’t imagine how Cloud had to be feeling right now – hell, Zack wasn’t even sure how _he_ was feeling. “I know this isn’t what you’re gonna want to hear, but… it’s not looking good for Sephiroth right now.” He had to pause to take a breath. “You might have to accept that he’s…”

“He’s not dead, not really”, Cloud said. “Why hasn’t he reset yet?” He turned to look at Zack, that frighteningly blank expression finally giving way to something more desperate. “I can’t do this, Zack. I can’t do this anymore.”

Zack pulled Cloud into a hug. Cloud flinched at first, but quickly returned the hug and pressed his face into Zack’s chest. Zack could feel him shaking. He was surprised Cloud wasn’t crying at all, but this seeming lack of emotion had to be a result of the shock.

“I’m sorry”, he whispered and stroked Cloud’s hair, not sure what else to say. He felt a lump in his throat but forced it down. He didn’t want to cry in front of Cloud; he had to be the tougher one in this situation. They sat in silence for a bit, until Cloud’s breaths started to even out.

“That bastard”, Cloud suddenly said, sounding tired beyond his years. “He’s just gonna leave me here, isn’t he?”

“Sephiroth was just trying to protect you, Cloud”, Zack said quietly. At least he assumed that was what Sephiroth’s motivations had been. Something malevolent had seemingly taken over his body, after all, and Sephiroth must have decided that _that_ had been the only solution. “He… he didn’t mean to leave us behind.”

“He’s not dead, Zack”, Cloud said. The way he said it didn’t even sound like denial, but more like he was stating a simple fact. “That’s… that’s not the part I’m worried about.”

“That thing that took him over… was that the Sephiroth from the future?” Genesis asked. Zack hadn’t noticed him approaching, but looking up, he’d managed to drag himself over to where Zack and Cloud were sitting.

“Yes”, Kadaj said. “He used Jenova’s body to escape the Lifestream, because big brother was dumb and threw it in there.”

“Huh?” Zack looked up at them, immediately getting incredibly confused. The Sephiroth from the future? What did that alien thing in the Nibelheim reactor have to do with this? What were they even talking about?

“You guys… know about that?” Cloud pulled away from Zack and peered up at Genesis, a wary look in his eyes.

“Kadaj told us all about it”, Aerith said. “You shouldn’t have tried to do all of this on your own, Cloud. We’ve got your back!”

“I’ve tried to ask for help before”, Cloud murmured, pointedly looking away from Aerith. “But people don’t usually believe me, so at some point I just… gave up. I was gonna tell everyone this time around, since things seemed to be going well, but… I was scared that you weren’t going to believe me this time either.”

“To be frank, I thought it sounded completely ridiculous”, Genesis declared. “But it certainly explains a lot, and I can’t exactly deny something when it’s right in front of me. Now, what were you saying about Sephiroth not being dead?”

“The first time I killed him, it happened exactly like this.” Cloud stood up, looking a bit more put together than he had moments ago. “He fell into Mako and ended up in the Lifestream. He can probably get out of there again…” For a moment, he looked uncertain again. “But it’s hard to say for sure. Now that there’s two of him, I don’t know which one will come back…”

“Wait, slow down”, Zack said. Everyone else seemed to know exactly what they were talking about and he’d been left in the dust. “I don’t get it at all.”

“Time travel”, Yazoo said. “The four of us are all from eight years into the future.”

“I’m sorry, but _what_?” Zack exclaimed, turning to Cloud in hopes of getting another explanation. But Cloud just nodded, refusing to look him in the eye.

“It’s true. I… didn’t want you to find out like this, but…”

“Time travel”, Zack repeated, glancing over to look at Sephiroth’s three… kids? No, they couldn’t be, they had to be older than eight, and they’d called Cloud big brother, not… “How are you three related to Sephiroth, again?”

“They’re… kind of like pieces of him”, Cloud said, cutting Kadaj off just as he was opening his mouth. “But the Sephiroth from my time is the absolute fucking worst, so I’m a bit confused about what they’re doing here. What _are_ you doing here?”

“You have my future self to thank for that, apparently”, Aerith cut in, once again preventing Kadaj from having any input. “It seems like I adopted them and sent them back in time to help you.” Cloud’s reaction to that was incredibly hard to read. He managed to crack a smile, but there was something horribly sad about it.

“The time loop kept resetting, though!” Kadaj finally managed to exclaim. “It was only this time we actually managed to get something done, since it didn’t reset before we got anywhere!”

“And we finally found big brother!” Loz declared cheerfully and tried to envelop Cloud in a hug, but Cloud ducked out of the way. Loz pouted and settled for leaning down to pet Angie instead.

“Okay, so…” Zack’s brain was still struggling to comprehend this information.

“So basically, Sephiroth’s future self somehow discovered how to rewind time and thought that torturing me by forcing me to relive the days leading up to the worst thing that ever happened to me would be a great pastime”, Cloud stated. “I had no idea it was him causing it until now, but I still went through the same shit over and over again, which was supposed to end with Sephiroth losing it and burning Nibelheim to the ground.”

“…You’re kidding!” Zack gasped. So that was why Cloud had acted the way he had in Nibelheim. He’d known what was going to happen. And it explained Cloud’s sudden personality change too! This made so much sense but also absolutely no sense at the same time. “Wait. You and Sephiroth… weren’t originally a couple, then?”

“Oh, hell no!” Cloud declared. “That was… kind of an accident, really. I was so tired and angry because nothing went my way, so I… um, I thought hate-fucking Sephiroth would be a great idea.” At least he looked sheepish about it. “That didn’t go according to plan.”

“What are we going to do now?” Genesis asked. He was starting to look restless. Honestly, Zack couldn’t really blame him. “Are you really certain Sephiroth is all right?”

“Of course not. But there’s nothing we can do about it anyway.” Cloud shrugged, keeping his expression blank. Zack genuinely didn’t understand how Cloud was holding it together so well. The only trace of emotion was the slight shaking of his hands and a glint of something unidentifiable in his eyes.

“The Planet doesn’t want to speak to me”, Aerith said, stepping up to Zack and grabbing his arm. She looked a lot more shaken than Cloud did. “It’s… angry.”

“We better get a move on, then.” Suddenly, Cloud was looking way more determined. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Do you have a plan, big brother?” Kadaj asked. “Sephiroth might still be a threat, we don’t know…”

“I told you, there’s nothing we can do about Sephiroth.” Cloud placed his rifle back into its holster and turned on his heel, beginning to head back the way they’d come. Zack decided to follow, and that seemed to get everyone else to do the same. They all fell into a rhythm behind Cloud easily.

“You do have a plan, though, right Cloud?” Zack asked. That kind of determination had to have a purpose of some sort. Cloud looked over his shoulder to meet Zack’s gaze, lips curling into an almost manic grin.

“Of course. Shinra’s going down. We’re gonna start a revolution.”


	28. Aerith

The walk out of the Temple was framed by a tense silence. Aerith kept trying to reach out to the Planet, just to see if it could tell her what Sephiroth’s current status was, but it continued acting like a stubborn child and refused to tell her anything. She could feel the turmoil, and that was it.

“So, Cloud…” Zack said after a while. “What’s the future like?”

“In some ways it sucks more, and in some it sucks less”, was all Cloud had to say on the matter. “I’m not gonna go into it. All you need to know is that Sephiroth snapped and tried to drop a big-ass space rock on Midgar and kill everyone on the Planet.”

“Whoa.” Zack’s eyes lit up. “Big-ass space rock? How did he do that?”

“He used a special Materia that… actually happens to be hidden here, in this Temple”, Cloud admitted. “That’s why I got so concerned when I found out those three were here.” He gestured vaguely towards the triplets. “I thought they were gonna try to do the same thing.”

“We’d never!” Loz said, sounding offended.

“He has a point. We did cause our fair share of destruction, after all”, Yazoo said, before turning to look at Kadaj. “I told you we should have approached big brother earlier.”

“He’d never have listened!” Kadaj snapped.

“To be fair I’d probably have tried to kill you if you’d showed up earlier”, Cloud stated. “You scared the shit out of me, and our previous encounters haven’t exactly been anything to write home about.”

He was eerily calm on the surface, but Aerith could tell he was trying his hardest to hide his real emotions. She couldn’t blame him; she was worried about what would happen to Sephiroth too. And for Cloud, the fear of all his progress being undone by yet another reset was probably also a factor.

“I’m still worried about Sephiroth”, Genesis admitted; a surprise, given how hostile he’d acted at the mere mention of his name earlier. Cloud seemed to think the same thing, raising his eyebrows and turning to look at Genesis with an unimpressed expression on his face.

“Oh, that’s new. You certainly haven’t acted like you care about him at all.”

“Don’t pick a fight now”, Zack said, sounding as exhausted as he looked. “Cloud, you ran off after the triplets before it happened, but Sephiroth and Genesis had a good talk and a hug and apologised to each other, so you don’t need to worry.”

“How wonderful and wholesome”, Cloud muttered. “You could apologise for nearly killing me too… and for saying all that shit to him in the reactor. That nearly undid all my hard work.”

“I’m sorry”, Genesis said. His somewhat disgruntled tone made it hard to tell if he was being completely genuine, but Cloud seemed to have decided not to argue.

“Apology accepted. But you’ll have to make it up to me later. Once we’ve managed to overthrow Shinra and clean up this mess, I’m giving you a second chance to make a good first impression. You’re taking us out to dinner. Me… and Sephiroth.” For the first time, Aerith could hear the emotion slipping through his façade.

“…Agreed”, Genesis said quietly.

They exited the Temple and were immediately confronted by a man that looked like he’d stepped straight out of a vampire novel. Aerith could sense that something was off about him, but not in the same way as something was off about Sephiroth or Genesis, or even Cloud. He felt… like he wasn’t supposed to be here, like his mere presence was distorting reality itself.

“Where’s Sephiroth?” the man asked, his gaze drifting over all of them, eyebrows raising at the sight of the triplets, who all flinched under his watchful eyes. They clearly recognised him, Aerith realised. Finally, the man’s eyes stopped on Cloud.

“He’s…” Cloud’s face fell. “I’m… I’m sorry, Vincent. I don’t know how to say this… He’s not dead, but…”

“But?” the man apparently named Vincent interjected sharply.

“Well, he’s… kind of taking a little dip in the Lifestream”, Cloud said slowly, clearly waiting for a reaction of some sort.

“And… how is that any different from being dead?” Vincent’s expression didn’t change, but his piercing red gaze somehow seemed to intensify. Even though Aerith couldn’t read him properly, she could feel the turmoil within him. She wondered what Sephiroth meant to him, because clearly, there was a connection here.

“Sephiroth is dead?!” A dark-haired girl around Cloud’s – physical – age stormed up to them, eyes wide and focused on Cloud. “What happened?! Cloud, are you all right?!”

“I’m fine, Tifa. And Sephiroth’s not actually dead”, Cloud said, wincing. “It’s just, um… he might be… possessed by his evil counterpart from the future?” The girl’s expression went from horrified to confused, while Vincent’s didn’t change at all.

“It sounds like it’s time for you to come clean, Cloud”, he simply said.

“Oh, you bastard, you knew already, didn’t you?” Zack groaned, glaring at Vincent.

“I only told Vincent”, Cloud said sheepishly. “Nobody else. I’m sorry, but there was just never an opportunity…”

“Told him about what?” Tifa questioned.

“And maybe you could tell us who these people are, while you’re at it?” Genesis asked, looking like he wanted to reacquaint himself with the ground.

What followed was a whirlwind of introductions and explanations. Aerith was told that Tifa was Cloud’s childhood friend and that Vincent was maybe possibly Sephiroth’s dad. Then, she was introduced to Yuffie, the daughter of the leader of Wutai, and Lazard, the former Director of SOLDIER. Cloud struggled to explain the triplets to them while the triplets themselves tried to interrupt when they weren’t satisfied by Cloud’s descriptions.

By the time they finally got to the part of the story where Cloud had time travelled, Aerith felt like she needed to sit down. She did exactly that, and Zack quickly joined her, wrapping an arm around her while giving her a concerned look. They hadn’t exactly had time to talk, but it was still relieving to have at least one familiar face with her.

“It’s okay. I’m just tired”, she murmured to him while Lazard cut in and tried to question the legitimacy of Cloud’s claims.

“I was really worried”, Zack said. “Genesis didn’t hurt you?”

“No… He scared me at first, but… I still want to help him, if I can”, she replied.

“You never told me you were a Cetra.” Zack didn’t sound hurt or anything, but she had a feeling that he might be. “I had to hear it from one of the Turks.”

“I don’t like people knowing about it”, Aerith admitted, leaning her head against Zack’s shoulder. “I don’t want to be special. It would be better if everyone thought I was normal. But everyone just keeps finding out, somehow.”

“Hey, I think it’s pretty cool!” Zack said, because of course he would think that.

“Of course you do, you big dork”, Aerith said and poked him in the side, exactly where she knew he was the most ticklish. He squirmed and held back a laugh, and Aerith had to smile. “I missed you.”

“Missed you too”, Zack mumbled and leant in to press a kiss to her forehead. He pulled away, gaze drifting back to Cloud, who was still caught up in explaining the concept of the separate existence of two different versions of Sephiroth to Yuffie, who looked particularly confused by the whole thing.

“Are you worried about Sephiroth too?” Aerith asked.

“Pretty hard not to be”, Zack said, letting out a sigh. “This is just awful… Things were finally starting to go well for him, too! I really hope Cloud’s right about the whole Lifestream thing. He shouldn’t have to die just because he turned into an asshole in some version of the future that probably isn’t gonna happen anymore.”

“You know… Sephiroth was supposed to kill me, in the future. The triplets told me.” Aerith hadn’t intended to bring it up, but she felt like she needed to talk about it. And she definitely wasn’t going to let Cloud know that she knew. He already seemed to look at her as if she was already a ghost, and if he knew that she knew he’d probably just end up feeling guilty about it. He seemed like the kind of guy who felt guilt over things out of his control.

“…Huh.” Zack turned to look at her, eyebrows furrowed, and was quiet for a bit. “…I wonder… why I wasn’t there to protect you.”

“It’s Sephiroth. I don’t think you’d be a match for him in any situation”, Aerith said, but couldn’t help wondering. Maybe the Aerith and Zack of the future were no longer seeing each other. It was definitely better than the other alternative that had crossed her mind; that Zack hadn’t come to her aid because he was already…

“So… you and Cloud must’ve been friends in the future, right? He mentioned that you were with him, the last time he went here”, Zack said.

“Oh?” That explained why Cloud seemed to have a hard time interacting with her now. If they’d been close, it had to be heart-breaking for him that she didn’t know him anymore. “I guess we must’ve been.”

“Man, I really need to ask him what he was doing hanging around my girl when I wasn’t there!” Zack joked.

“He’s actually been to my church once or twice while you weren’t there. He even brought Sephiroth along”, Aerith teased him.

“Oh, what’s this?” Zack gasped and clutched his chest in a dramatic gesture, putting on an exaggerated scandalised expression that wasn’t convincing at all. “She admits it! I can’t believe it! You _spoke_ to two other guys while I wasn’t there!”

“Says the guy who did a lot more than speaking with two other guys while I wasn’t there”, she retorted playfully.

“At least I was on the phone with you the whole time!”

“Hey. You guys seem to be having fun.” Aerith hadn’t noticed Cloud approaching until he dropped down to sit next to them.

“Finished explaining everything?” Zack asked. Cloud nodded, and upon glancing around, Aerith found the triplets deep in discussion with Vincent, and Genesis talking heatedly to Lazard while Angie circled around their legs. Yuffie was looking bored and practicing throwing her shuriken, while Tifa… was approaching them and sat down next to Cloud with a decidedly unimpressed look on her face.

“You could have _said_ something!” she exclaimed, shooting Cloud a glare.

“And have everyone think I was delusional? No thanks”, Cloud huffed. “I’m a complete human disaster, but I’m not _that_ stupid.” Tifa rolled her eyes at him before turning to look at Aerith.

“It’s nice to meet you, by the way, Aerith”, she said. “Zack has told me lots about you.”

“Has he now?” Aerith hoped it wasn’t anything way too embarrassing. She knew all about Zack and his tendencies to… well, overshare, just a little bit. She noticed that Cloud was giving them a really weird look, and decided she had to ask. “What’s wrong?”

“You two were actually… really good friends, in my time”, Cloud admitted, sadness drifting briefly across his face. “It’s just… nice to see you in the same place again.”

“We were?” Tifa’s eyes lit up.

“Uh-huh. You were both part of my weird little squad who stopped Sephiroth from destroying the world.” The melancholic expression on Cloud’s face became more and more obvious. “You guys… were my family.”

“Really? Is this fate bringing us together again?” Tifa grinned. “Who else?”

“Um, well…” Cloud leant back and looked up at the sky. “There was the three of us, this guy called Barret who was the current leader of AVALANCHE at that time… Then there was Nanaki, who’s one of those talking beasts from Cosmo Canyon… Cid, who’s a pilot who used to work for Shinra… a robot cat… oh, and Yuffie and Vincent of course.”

“Yuffie and Vincent too? Wow, we should definitely check in with the rest of them too!” Tifa said, sounding incredibly excited. “All of us could be friends again, even if Cloud’s the only one who remembers!”

“Hmm… Maybe”, Cloud said, managing a somewhat more cheerful smile this time.

“I wasn’t with you?” Zack asked innocently, but Aerith could tell that he was desperate to know not only why he hadn’t helped with stopping Sephiroth, but also why he hadn’t been there when Aerith died.

“Ah… No.” From how Cloud’s expression shifted, it was plain to see that Zack had hit a really sore spot. “But you and Aerith ended up settling down together after things calmed down! You guys were really happy together!” He was trying to smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

Zack and Aerith shared a look. The conclusion was obvious. Zack opened his mouth to say something, but then his phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket, gave it a quick look and then rejected the call before stuffing the phone back into place.

“Cissnei”, he said, letting out a laugh. “Man, the Turks must be pissed because I stole that damn helicopter…”

“You stole a helicopter?!” Aerith had seen the Shinra helicopter the group must’ve arrived in and assumed that Zack, as a SOLDIER, simply had access to that kind of transport if he so desired, but clearly, there was a story here.

“I most certainly did!” Zack declared proudly. “We’re rebelling against Shinra now, stealing company assets included!”

“He was a real badass, let me tell you”, Tifa half-whispered to her. “Refused to use anything other than Sleep spells on the enemy…”

“You better be into my new bad boy persona…” Zack murmured, lips curling into a grin. Aerith couldn’t help it; she snorted.

“As if you could pull that off!”

“Aww c’mon… Don’t say that! I’m a man of many talents!” He gave her the puppy-dog eyes, only further making it obvious that he would never be able to pull it off. Cloud began to laugh as well, wholeheartedly laugh, in a way that Aerith definitely hadn’t heard him laugh before. Zack and Tifa seemed to think the same thing, as they turned to look at Cloud at the same time as her.

“Sorry”, Cloud said sheepishly. “It’s just… so nice. It was me against the world for so long, and now I’m finally surrounded by people who’ve got my back.” He sighed. “I just wish Sephiroth could be here too.” He looked sad and in desperate need of a hug. Aerith decided to indulge him.

All three of them must have somehow managed to think the same thing at exactly the same time, because they all collided with each other when they tried to throw themselves at Cloud to hug him and ended up sprawled out in a pile on top of him instead. Zack began to giggle instantly, and it was contagious.

“Maybe… we should try that again”, Tifa said amidst laughter.

“Nah, this is fine”, Cloud said, looking perfectly content to have three people lying on top of him. “I’m just happy to have you guys here.”

Aerith didn’t know if the Planet was even bothering with listening to her at this point, but she still told it firmly that if it didn’t hurry up and spit Sephiroth out of the Lifestream soon, she’d just have to jump in there by herself to drag him out.


	29. Sephiroth

He was drifting, and when he cracked an eye open, he saw only green. It made him think of the Mako tanks in Hojo’s labs. In other words, it made him feel sick and filled him with a desperate need to get out of here…

Where was ‘here’ anyway? He wasn’t sure how he’d ended up here, what he was doing here, or… anything else, really.

Sephiroth decided he had to open his eyes, and, upon doing so, found himself standing in an empty corridor he recognised far too well. The door in the distance led to Hojo’s lab. He didn’t have any lab appointments scheduled today, so on autopilot, he turned on his heel and began to head back… only to find that the hallway continued on and on without an end in sight in that direction.

This made absolutely no sense, which meant he was probably having a nightmare. Since he was aware it was a dream, he decided he might as well switch up the scenario a bit. Lucid dreams weren’t a common experience for him, so it was best to take full advantage. As soon as he thought about it, he found himself back in his apartment, in bed with that book he’d been looking forward to reading…

No, now that he thought about it, there was still something missing. Sephiroth closed his eyes and tried to convince the dream to put Cloud next to him in bed. That would be perfect. The absolute ideal way to relax.

“You’re not bringing Cloud into this as well”, his own voice said.

Sephiroth opened his eyes, turned his head to the left and found his splitting likeness sitting next to him in bed. But where Sephiroth had imagined himself in casual wear, with sweatpants and a nice warm sweater, hair pulled back into a ponytail and reading glasses on, his doppelganger was dressed for battle in his typical leather ensemble. His wing was out and loomed menacingly over Sephiroth’s head, and Masamune, covered in blood, was resting in his lap.

“You shouldn’t be wearing boots in bed”, was the first thing that left Sephiroth’s mouth. “And when did you last clean Masamune?” Silly details, perhaps, but his mind seemed eager to latch on to the oddest things about this dream.

“Did I really care about things like that, back then?” The other Sephiroth huffed and laid his head down on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. “I forgot how comfortable this bed was.”

“It’s better with Cloud here”, Sephiroth said, thinking about how it helped with the nightmares.

“Cloud, Cloud, Cloud…” The other Sephiroth sighed in annoyance. “You’re embarrassing. Getting so attached to someone you barely even know.”

“Like you’re any better”, Sephiroth retorted, unable to shake the sensation that something was wrong. His dreams didn’t usually entail literally arguing with himself. He wondered if this was his brain trying to tell him something about his mental state.

“But I do know the real Cloud”, the other Sephiroth said, his lips curling into a cold smirk. “I know him better than anyone. He’s nothing but a broken puppet clinging to the first thing he can find comfort in. Desperation is the only thing that made him come to you. I’m sure he’s happy now that you’re out of his way and he never had to tell you the entire truth.”

Out of his way? Sephiroth felt something in him go cold. He tried to remember when he’d last seen Cloud… and then it all came back to him. The Temple of the Ancients. The thing that had taken over his body. The desperate look in Cloud’s eyes as he’d fallen.

“Where am I?” he asked, trying to force down the sudden overwhelming panic that rose in his chest.

“The Lifestream”, the other Sephiroth replied, clearly enjoying this conversation far too much. “I forgot… this is your first time here, isn’t it?”

“I’m… I’m dead?” Sephiroth had never really believed in any sort of afterlife, but it was hard to deny what had happened. He’d tumbled down into the Mako, and this entire thing was what had come after. Either, they really were in the Lifestream, or this was just a dream-like vision his brain was offering him in its last few moments before shutting down completely. He wasn’t sure which one he preferred.

“In a way, yes. But that has never stopped us.” The other Sephiroth stretched his arms out above his head, clearly having decided to make himself comfortable in Sephiroth’s bed. “I’ve escaped this place more than once. Mother’s cells make it harder for the Planet to absorb us, and our own strength of will helps as well.”

Sephiroth tried to piece things together from the other Sephiroth’s words, as well as from the visions he’d been shown before he’d decided to let himself fall. The conclusions he reached were unpleasant to say the least.

“Cloud was right about being a time traveller… and you were the one who sent him back. You… are my future self.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“You, no, I… I burn Nibelheim down. Kill the townsfolk in cold blood. And then… I try to end the world.” Sephiroth’s hands were shaking. Meteor covering the sky, Cloud’s sword piercing his heart… How had Cloud even been able to look at him without hating what he saw? Maybe he hadn’t. Maybe he’d just been pretending, all this time.

“That’s right”, the other Sephiroth practically purred. “We took away his mother, his hometown… and we kill Aerith too, while he watches. It’s a pity we didn’t get Tifa and his other annoying friends too…”

“Be quiet!” Sephiroth snapped and turned his head away, unable to stand looking at this twisted mockery of himself any longer.

“I know you want it too, deep inside”, the other Sephiroth whispered. “Mother would have accepted you, and you could have sailed the stars, just like she did, long ago. Imagine, the endless universe at your mercy…”

It had been tempting enough for this other version of Sephiroth, apparently. But this left one lingering question which needed an answer.

“…If that’s what you want, why are you still here?” Sephiroth questioned.

“…Pardon?” The other Sephiroth sounded taken aback by his question, as if he hadn’t been expecting it at all. Clearly, he lacked the ability to find flaws in his own train of thoughts. Maybe that was true for both of them. Sephiroth wasn’t sure.

“If your goal is to kill everything and everyone on this Planet and then go on a trip across the universe, why are you still here torturing Cloud by forcing him into a time loop, like the divine equivalent of a petty child?”

The other Sephiroth was quiet. Sephiroth turned to look at him and found that he’d curled up on his side and turned his back to Sephiroth.

“Don’t have an answer to that?” he questioned, his voice coming out a lot harsher than he’d intended.

“…Because it wasn’t what I really wanted.” The other Sephiroth’s voice was quiet, so quiet that Sephiroth barely heard him speak. “Mother and I… are the same, at this point. There’s no longer a line that separates us… so she doesn’t speak to me anymore.”

“…I see.” Sephiroth had gathered from the fragmented pieces of memory he’d seen that there had been a merge of some sort between him and Jenova at one point, but he wasn’t sure he understood the implications of it. “What does that mean? Does it change things?”

“We’ve always hated being alone”, the other Sephiroth whispered. “It’s why you latched on to Cloud so quickly, and why I… gave myself to Mother without a doubt. But when Mother and I became one… it meant I was all alone again.”

“And?” Sephiroth urged, because he could tell there was more coming.

“And so, I started… thinking. The universe is vast and empty, and if I were to travel it like this… I would be by myself, wandering between worlds, seeking something I might not ever find.” The other Sephiroth turned to look at him, and Sephiroth saw desperation beyond anything he’d ever known in his eyes. “You understand, don’t you?”

“I… think I do”, Sephiroth said. At least the part about not wanting to spend eternity drifting through the universe all alone. It definitely didn’t make godhood sound tempting. “But what does that have to do with Cloud?”

“Cloud… is the person who keeps me alive.” There was something hungry in the other Sephiroth’s voice now, and Sephiroth wasn’t sure how to feel about that. “As long as he hates me, I have something that keeps me from fading into the Lifestream. He’s _everything_ , and I _need_ him.”

“I hope you realise that you just relinquished your rights to mock me for being too attached to Cloud”, Sephiroth stated.

“But Cloud had other people he needed”, the other Sephiroth went on, disregarding his interruption completely. “He was so very close to being _happy_.” The word was bitter on his tongue. “And I thought… if I should be alone for all eternity, then so should Cloud. And killing the people he cared about wasn’t enough, because Cloud is resilient. Despite the suffering he has gone through, he retains the ability to form new connections with others.”

“So that’s where the time loop came from.”

“Exactly!” The other Sephiroth looked almost gleeful. “It’s impossible to maintain relationships with people who keep forgetting about you. And if I could remind him of his hatred for me at the same time, by letting Nibelheim burn over and over again, it would only make me stronger, to keep this going for as long as I wanted to.”

It was sick and twisted, and Sephiroth didn’t understand how he and this vicious creature had ever been one and the same. But there was still one thing he needed to know.

“What was your end goal? You must have had one. It’s not like us to blindly cause pain and suffering without something we’re working towards.” Or perhaps it was, a part of him thought. This was who he was supposed to become, after all.

“Isn’t it obvious?” The other Sephiroth offered him a bitter smile. “I wanted Cloud to be so alone and broken that he would have no strength left to go on. And then, finally, I would gracefully allow him to give himself over to me completely. My precious puppet and I, travelling the universe together for all eternity.”

Oh.

“You…” Sephiroth wasn’t sure what he could say to this, but he had to say _something_. “…You mean you… did all of this as some sort of twisted courting ritual?”

“If that’s what you want to call it”, the other Sephiroth said, his eyes narrowing into a glare. “But then _you_ came along! I was so close to breaking him, and then he had the nerve to actually find a way to stop Nibelheim from burning… by forcing his way into your bleeding heart!”

“He… never tried to do that before?” It was odd to think about. The thought that Cloud had gone through the same days so many times, trying different things to stop Sephiroth from turning into this twisted thing next to him… Honestly, Sephiroth couldn’t blame Cloud for not wanting to get too close, if this was what he associated Sephiroth with.

“Why would he? He’s hated us for so long that I can’t comprehend how there’s any capacity to love you left in his heart!” The words stung more than Sephiroth would’ve liked to admit.

“You’re just jealous”, he retorted, expecting the other to deny it.

“Of course I’m jealous!” the other Sephiroth snarled instead. “I hate that it was so easy! I hate that all it took for you to turn your back on fate was someone hugging you and telling you that you’re loved! One single person!” He paused his rant, drawing a deep breath, and when he spoke again, his voice sounded so painfully small. “Why didn’t anyone do that for me?”

Sephiroth wasn’t sure if he was supposed to feel sorry for him or not. He had a feeling it wasn’t right to feel sympathy for someone who had done so many horrible things, but at the same time, the fact that he knew in detail exactly what had led this version of him down this road made it all too easy to relate. Without Cloud’s interference, after all, they would literally be exactly the same.

“People did care, you know”, he said carefully. “You just didn’t know how to open up to them.” Normally, he wouldn’t make such assumptions about people, but this was different. He knew exactly how the other Sephiroth felt, because he’d been there.

“It’s still not fair”, the other Sephiroth hissed through gritted teeth. “I was hurting! If people cared, they should have been able to tell!”

There was so much anger in the other Sephiroth, but really, it made Sephiroth sad more than anything else. To think this was what he would have been if Cloud hadn’t – wait.

“You gave Cloud to me”, he realised suddenly. “If you hadn’t sent him back in time, I would never have been able to meet him. Thank you.” His gratitude was genuine, but it didn’t seem to placate the other at all.

“I should reset again”, the other Sephiroth murmured, eyes staring off into the distance, watching something only he could see. “Maybe I could take over your body and pretend to be you, so I could have Cloud all to myself.”

“But?” Sephiroth could tell so easily when he left something unsaid.

“But I wouldn’t be satisfied”, the other Sephiroth said, shaking his head. “I’m… not human anymore. I’m too cruel, too hateful… I wouldn’t be able to contain those feelings. And it would make me furious, if Cloud looked at me and I knew he was only thinking of you.”

“You’re… going to let me go back to Cloud, then?” Sephiroth asked, trying to ignore that his heart felt like it was leaping out of his throat.

“Of course not. If I can’t have Cloud, you won’t have him either. And it’s been so awfully lonely here. You can stay. You’re easy to talk to.” The other Sephiroth’s eyes drifted back to look at him again. “You’re the only person who could ever understand me.”

“I don’t want to stay!” Sephiroth said insistently. “I’m going back to Cloud!”

“Do you even know how?” the other Sephiroth asked. Sephiroth didn’t reply. He had absolutely no idea. How did one go about forcing one’s way out of the Lifestream? It sounded like the other Sephiroth had some experience… but he clearly wasn’t willing to share, instead simply huffing and smirking. “It seems we’re at a stalemate, then.”

They fell quiet after that, watching each other warily. Sephiroth tried to think. Was there any way to solve this reasonably? Sephiroth wanted to get out of here, but his future self was the only one who knew how. And underneath all that monstrous anger, his future self clearly desired companionship above all else, which Sephiroth could provide, in one way or another. And then, he had an idea. It wasn’t a very good one – hell, it was probably outright horrible – but it was all he had.

“When we… were both in my head, I felt our minds starting to…” He struggled with finding the right words to describe the sensation. “…intertwine, I suppose. I could feel what you felt.”

“You’re going somewhere with this”, the other Sephiroth said, a hint of curiosity lighting up his eyes.

“Does it work the same way the other way around? Can I make you feel how I feel?” Sephiroth asked, disappointed when the other Sephiroth shook his head. “Why not?”

“I wouldn’t let you in.”

“But if you did…” Sephiroth insisted. “Say we both opened up our minds to each other and let them blend together. What would happen?”

“Our memories would overlap, and one of us would inevitably override the other completely. Effectively, we would end up being a single person. I’m more powerful than you in every way, so you would most likely end up being nothing but a drifting thought in my mind.” The other Sephiroth said it so factually that Sephiroth assumed he was completely convinced that this was the truth.

“You sound awfully certain about that.”

“Why are you even bringing this up?” the other Sephiroth asked, narrowing his eyes and watching Sephiroth suspiciously. “If you intend to challenge me to a fight, it’s pointless. I’m indestructible.”

“If it turned out the other way around… If you let me take charge, we could both have what we want”, Sephiroth said, trying to sound equally confident in his own conclusion.

“I’m not sure I’m following.”

“Your knowledge gets us out of here. I get to go back to Cloud and you… won’t have to be alone anymore. Just like you wanted.” Sephiroth watched the other’s expression fall, all the cockiness fading away until there was only uncertainty left.

“You want me to become nothing but a piece of your subconscious?”

“Compared to spending the rest of all eternity sulking in the Lifestream, wouldn’t it be nicer?” Sephiroth asked. “You’ll get to let go. You’ll get to _rest_.” It was easy to see now that the other Sephiroth, despite his claims of superiority, was broken and tired. Sephiroth had seen that same exhausted look in Cloud’s eyes when he thought Sephiroth wasn’t looking.

“I’ll overwhelm you. Corrupt you. I can’t let go. I can never let go.”

“Cloud must be worried sick”, Sephiroth said. “He’s going to hug us. You’d like that too, wouldn’t you? If it can make me happy, maybe it can make you happy too.” He hoped he wasn’t pushing too hard. But the other Sephiroth just stared at him, before letting out a sigh.

“…I can’t be happy anymore. But at least… I wouldn’t have to exist like this.” It wasn’t the conclusion Sephiroth had tried to get him to reach. Quite frankly, it was just depressing. “Even so, this is meaningless. It’s not going to work.”

“We won’t know until we try.”

“…Fine”, the other Sephiroth sighed, resigned. “We’ll try. But don’t blame me when my pain becomes too much for you to bear and your soul shatters under the pressure.”

“I don’t think you’re giving me enough credit. I can handle it. I won’t break”, Sephiroth insisted, wondering if he was getting in way over his head here. “So… how do we do this?”

“I’ll take care of it”, the other Sephiroth said. “Just close your eyes and try not to be swept away.” Sephiroth did as he was told. “And if you do manage to retain yourself and find your way back to Cloud, do tell him that…” There was an audible sigh. “No, never mind. There’s nothing I could say to him that he would want to hear.”

It didn’t feel like anything, at first. But then, suddenly, it felt like everything at once, for one brief overwhelming moment, until it all slipped into place. It felt incredibly anti-climactic, but here he was now, mismatched memories struggling to fit together, not even entirely sure what he was even supposed to _be_ anymore. Yet, there was only one thing on his mind.

He had to get back to Cloud. The next step he would take after that was… uncertain, given how much his thoughts seemed to be at odds with each other currently, but he supposed that would settle, if he could just get out of here and give it some time. And he did know how to get out of here now; with Jenova’s power at his disposal, it was just a matter of overpowering the Lifestream through sheer force of will, and right now, his need to see Cloud was all-consuming.


	30. Cloud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything's so weird and confusing right now that I keep forgetting what day it is and when I'm supposed to update

Cloud wanted to sleep, but he couldn’t. The fact that he had to share the space in the helicopter with several other people didn’t exactly make things easier. While the Remnants had agreed that they would ride their motorcycles back to Midgar and meet up with the rest of them there, there were still eight people and a dog to account for. Lazard and Zack had taken the pilots’ seats and all three girls had squeezed into one corner of the back seat, which left Cloud sharing his personal space with Vincent – which was fine – and Genesis – which was less fine.

He wasn’t sure how to feel about Genesis, really. Their first few encounters had been less than ideal, but right now, the sickly man absentmindedly scratching behind Angie’s ears didn’t seem like much of a threat at all. Cloud was pretty sure he was missing a few pieces from the story, but maybe he could afford to give Genesis a second chance. If he even got that opportunity.

While he’d been trying not to think about Sephiroth, it was practically impossible to keep his mind off him for long. Cloud thought he was dealing with it pretty well externally. On the inside, though? He felt like he was dangling from a cliff and his grip was loosening. He was confident that it took more than that to kill Sephiroth, but even if Sephiroth did manage to crawl his way back out of the Lifestream… would it even be _his_ Sephiroth anymore?

Why hadn’t the Sephiroth from the future reset, anyway? Fuck, Cloud hated this. He hated having to spend every moment in constant fear that everything he’d worked so hard for would be wiped away, just when he’d finally begun to have hope for the future again.

“All right, guys! Status update from Kunsel!” Cloud saw Zack put his phone away. Huh, he hadn’t even noticed that he’d been talking to someone. “Shinra is in total disarray right now! People think Sephiroth has deserted because nobody has seen him in a while, the executives are being really quiet about the whole thing, and…” He grimaced. “…I’m wanted for stealing a helicopter. Man, what a way to go.”

“Sounds flashy enough”, Genesis drawled. “I’m _almost_ impressed.”

“I’ll try harder next time, just for you!” Zack retorted, before turning his attention to Cloud. “Okay, so what’s the plan?”

“Who put him in charge?” Genesis questioned and glanced over at Cloud with a frown on his face.

“No one. It’s just that he seems to have the greatest grasp on this… incredibly confusing situation”, Lazard said. “I’m not entirely confident that we can take on the entire Shinra Company like this, however. If Sephiroth had been here, maybe, but…”

“If me and Genesis put our heads together, I’m sure we can match Sephiroth!” Zack exclaimed. “Right?” He turned to Genesis seeking approval, but only got an eyeroll as a response. “And we’ve got Vincent too! He’s also enhanced!”

“True”, Vincent murmured. “But enhancements get us nowhere without a plan.”

“We take out the President”, Cloud said. “That’s gonna leave Shinra in chaos, and then we can, ah…” He hadn’t really thought that far, admittedly, and having everyone’s attention focused on him kind of made him a bit anxious. “…maybe… take control somehow?”

“Lazard has a claim to inherit the President title, right?” Tifa said suddenly.

“The other executives will surely do anything to prevent that”, Lazard said. “Shinra is full of people who would do anything for power.”

“And what are Heidegger and Scarlet gonna do when I point a Buster Sword at them, huh?” Zack said, sounding surprisingly smug. “SOLDIER is still loyal to you, Director! And you said it yourself earlier – if they see that I’m on your side too, I’m sure they’re gonna back us up!” He let out a sigh. “It’d be more effective if Sephiroth was here, though…” A gloomy silence filled the helicopter.

Cloud hated that Sephiroth’s name kept popping up in conversation. He didn’t want to think about Sephiroth right now; the only thing he could feel was anger for allowing himself to get attached. He should have known it could never work, that his and Sephiroth’s history would always come back to haunt him no matter when and where he was…

“Cloud, I need to ask you something”, Aerith said, pulling him out of his own thoughts when he needed it the most, as if she’d somehow known exactly when to ask. “The Planet let me know about a way to purge people of Jenova’s influence, and Kadaj mentioned it too… Do you know anything about it? It’s like a healing rain…”

“Oh. Yeah, I know.” He remembered Aerith mastering it while they’d been on their journey together, and how it had saved their asses several times. He also remembered that Aerith had been able to use it all the way from the Lifestream to cure the Geostigma.

“You think it could be used to cure Genesis’s degradation, since that was caused by Jenova cells as well?” Aerith asked. Genesis’s attention instantly perked up, made obvious through the glint of desperate hope in his eyes, even though he was clearly trying to be discreet about it.

“I mean… I guess so”, Cloud said. Admittedly he had absolutely no idea about the nature of Genesis’s degradation, but if it was connected to Jenova, he’d be willing to bet that it would work. Before the spring in Aerith’s church had been created, the Geostigma had been terminal too, after all. “You… made a pool of healing water in the church back in my time. We used it to cure people who had been made sick by Jenova”, he explained.

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Aerith’s expression instantly lit up, and she turned to Genesis with a grin. “See? I might be able to help you after all!”

“I knew I had the right idea”, Genesis declared and puffed his chest out. “My friend, your desire… is the bringer of life, the gift of the Goddess!”

“I might change my mind if you keep doing that”, Aerith said, giving him a cheeky look. Zack glanced between her and Genesis as if he couldn’t quite understand how exactly the two of them were getting along. Cloud couldn’t blame him; he was confused too. But then again, Aerith had never been the predictable type.

“So, if Shinra gets overthrown…” Yuffie had been oddly quiet for a while and was now watching Lazard with narrowed eyes. “…what does that mean for Wutai?”

“I have no interest in allowing Shinra to continue its oppressive ways”, Lazard said. “My desire to make a change was my reason for joining Shinra in the first place. I’m certain we could reach an understanding through negotiations.”

“Wow. My dad’s gonna be so proud!” Yuffie fist-bumped the air.

It was going so smoothly, too smoothly. No doubt Sephiroth was just biding his time in the Lifestream, waiting for the perfect opportunity to crush Cloud’s hopes once again. It was torturous to think of Sephiroth and finding himself torn in two like this, one half of him terrified to death of what Sephiroth would do next and the other yearning desperately to have Sephiroth’s arms wrapped around him…

“Cloud, you look really pale”, Tifa said, sounding awfully concerned.

“…I’m nervous”, Cloud said, because it felt better than admitting that he’d been on the verge of a panic attack for quite a while now.

“Me too”, Tifa said. “But everything will be okay, you’ll see!” Cloud nodded, hating that he couldn’t feel that hopeful. All of the people here with him would simply get to forget everything if Sephiroth rewound time again. All the consequences, all the responsibilities… They would once again be left for Cloud to bear on his shoulders.

And speaking of responsibilities…

“…We need to kill Hojo as well as the President”, he said, because it felt like an important addition.

“Goes without saying”, Vincent said. “I’ll take care of it. In Sephiroth’s place.” For once, an emotion slipped through his blank mask; the fury he felt at the mere mention of Hojo was clearly too much to contain.

“Yeah, I had a feeling you would”, Cloud said. Honestly, he’d wanted to kill Hojo himself, but it really felt more appropriate to allow Vincent to do the honours. Vincent had more raw power to take whatever Hojo might throw at them anyway.

In fact… Cloud felt kind of useless here right now. Zack, Lazard, Vincent, Aerith, Genesis, the Remnants… They all had something to contribute to this operation, be it raw strength, charisma or healing ability. Even Tifa would probably fare better in a fight than he would right now… and Yuffie was a literal kid, so he wasn’t exactly eager to compare himself there. They had this covered, and Cloud was just a stranger in his own skin, sitting back and watching it all unfold.

Cloud leant back and closed his eyes, trying to imagine that he was cradled safely in Sephiroth’s arms. If he could get a bit of sleep, it was at least a little time he could spend not worrying about everything that was happening all around him.

“Want me to cast Sleepel you, Cloud?” Zack’s voice cut in. “You look like you could use some shut-eye before we get to Midgar.” Holy shit, the world had some mercy on him after all. Cloud cracked an eye open and watched the soft, understanding expression on Zack’s face. It made his heart ache.

“Please do”, Cloud said, hoping it didn’t sound far too desperate. Within moments, the sensation of the spell washed over him, drawing him into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	31. Aerith

“Oh, thank goodness, child! You had me scared to death!” Elmyra’s arms wrapped tight around her, and Aerith hugged her back without hesitation. The worst part of this entire adventure had been that she had known how worried she must have made her mom.

“Mom, it’s okay”, she murmured. “I wasn’t in danger, not really.” Not from Genesis, at least, but she’d be damned if she ever divulged any of the details about this to her mom.

“Told you I’d bring her back safe, ma’am!” Zack said cheerfully. “Am I deemed worthy now?”

“I’ll have to think about that”, Elmyra said. “Over dinner, maybe?”

“Yeah, we’ll have to do that later”, Zack said. He’d started jogging on the spot. “We’ve got some business to attend to, right Aerith?”

“Yeah”, Aerith agreed, already expecting the disgruntled expression on her mom’s face. “It’s fine, mom, really! I’ll be perfectly safe with Zack! We’re just meeting up with some friends. I’ll come right back home afterwards.”

“I swear, kids these days…” Elmyra shook her head in dismay, but still offered them both a warm smile. “At least you have an excellent bodyguard. Look after her, SOLDIER.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Zack saluted with a grin, and Elmyra gave a satisfied nod.

“You know how to pick ‘em. Good job”, she said, winking at Aerith before closing the front door.

“All right!” Zack held his hand out to Aerith, still grinning. “Shall we go, milady?”

“Never call me that ever again”, Aerith said and hooked her arm around Zack’s, getting a laugh from Zack in response. They began to head towards the church together, mostly in silence. Aerith hoped they hadn’t kept the others waiting too long, but making sure her mom knew she was all right had been her first priority. There was no way she could have left her to wallow in the same uncertainty she’d been forced to endure when her husband had been in the war.

“These last few days have been the weirdest of my life”, Zack said suddenly. “Feels like a fever dream.” Aerith nodded in agreement. It had been the same for her, after all.

“So, um…” She didn’t really want to bring it up, but it had hung over her ever since she’d put two and two together. “We were both supposed to die. In Cloud’s future, I mean.”

“Yeah…” Zack’s cheerful expression immediately shifted into a grim smile. “It’s… kinda weird to think about. Sounded like Cloud isn’t exactly over it either. I wonder how it happened. You think Sephiroth killed me too?”

“Maybe. Maybe he’ll tell us, if we ask him when things have calmed down a bit.”

“I don’t know, he doesn’t seem very eager to share the details”, Zack said. “Sounds like he’s been through quite a lot of trauma. If he doesn’t wanna talk about it, I say we don’t try to press him for details.”

“Hmm, all right.” She figured she might be able to ask the triplets about it. While they didn’t seem to have a completely coherent understanding of everything, it was still possible that she could piece something together if she asked them.

They walked in silence for the rest of the way. The helicopter was parked right outside the church, along with the triplets’ three motorcycles, which were a new addition. They must’ve arrived while the two of them were seeing Elmyra…

Aerith had never seen this many people in her church. It was kind of strange, really, especially when considering what a strange group of people it was. The triplets all instantly perked up as she and Zack stepped inside, and they abandoned pestering Cloud in favour of rushing over to her.

“Mother!” Loz declared enthusiastically. “We missed you! Where were you?”

“I was just telling my own mother where I was”, Aerith explained and honestly delighted in seeing the way the three of them turned to share glances as if she’d just explained an absolutely revolutionary concept.

“Mother has a mother too…” Kadaj’s stunned expression only clarified it.

“So, your mother would be our…” Yazoo began, trailing off and glanced at Aerith, clearly expecting an answer.

“…Grandma, I guess”, Aerith said, suddenly realising that she’d have to introduce these three to her mom if they kept following her around like confused ducklings. Yeah, that’d have to be a later problem.

“So, if you’re their mom now, am I their dad?” Zack looked like he wanted to sit down. “I don’t know if I’m ready to be a parent, Aerith!” He gave Aerith such a horrified, panicked look that is was hard not to burst into laughter.

“We can sort out the family drama later”, Genesis said. He’d draped himself rather dramatically over a church pew, with Angie having seated himself next to him as always. “Where do we go from here?”

“We’re taking out the President and Hojo”, Cloud said. He still sounded drowsy from his magic-induced nap, but Aerith could see the restless look in his eyes. She could sense that he was clearly itching for a fight. “A small group would probably work best. We can’t have too many people to keep track of in a discreet operation.”

“I’ll go”, Vincent said. “Hojo’s time has come.”

“I’ll go too”, Zack said. “I’ll try to rally SOLDIER to support us. You can leave the President to me.” Aerith was surprised by how readily he agreed to kill a man. But then again, Zack had surely done it before; he’d fought in the war, after all. It was still a bit weird to see that side of him; a side that he usually didn’t show her at all.

“Lazard waits here, we don’t want him to get caught in the line of fire”, Cloud said, earning himself a nod from Lazard. “Yuffie stays too, because if something happens to her, we’d have problems with Wutai later.” Yuffie pouted at that. “Aerith needs to cure Genesis, so they both stay.”

“What about us, big brother?” Kadaj asked. Cloud was quiet for a moment.

“…You stay here. I’ll trust you with protecting Aerith and the others in case something happens.” The triplets all looked incredibly excited by that prospect. Somehow, Aerith had a feeling that Cloud just wanted them out of the way so that their rather chaotic way of doing things wouldn’t put a dent in his plans. “And Tifa…”

“Tifa is going with you”, Tifa said firmly, marching right over to Cloud with an irritated expression on her face. “Something bad always happens when you leave me behind. I’m tired of it. And don’t protest! I’ll kick your ass if you do.”

“…All right.” Cloud looked tired and reluctant, but clearly wasn’t ready to pick a fight over it. “It’ll be me, Tifa, Zack and Vincent, then. But Tifa, you and I are just gonna be there for backup, all right? No putting ourselves in unnecessary danger.”

“Stop talking to me like I’m an idiot…” Tifa sighed. “You’re such a jerk.”

“Okay, let’s get going, then!” Zack exclaimed, clearly trying to keep the party morale high. “We’ll see you guys later!” he declared completely casually, as if he wasn’t about to march face first into danger. He turned and tilted his head down to plant a kiss on Aerith’s cheek. “Go do your Cetra thing now.”

“Good luck”, Aerith said, trying to seep in at least a little bit of his confidence. Zack beamed at her, then turned on his heel and disappeared out the church doors. Vincent and Tifa both passed Aerith as they followed him, and Cloud came trailing behind them, with a determined but freezingly cold look in his eyes. He didn’t look at her as he passed her. Aerith wondered if that was the easier thing for him to do.

“We’ll be outside”, Kadaj decided, gesturing for his brothers to follow him. “If we’re to keep watch, we can do it more effectively there.” The three of them all slunk past her as well. It was probably better like that. The less people, the less distractions.

“How does the curing process work?” Lazard asked as the doors slammed shut behind them.

“I… haven’t really figured it out yet”, Aerith admitted and clutched the staff from the Temple of the Ancients tightly in her hand. She approached her flowers and crouched down next to them. She felt like if she was going to try to connect with the Planet again, this was the right spot. “I’m going to try to speak to the Planet now, so please be quiet.”

The Planet was still raging as she reached out to it with her mind. She poked and prodded at the Lifestream, trying to get its attention. It was angry, she could tell, still screaming about the Calamity in its midst, about corruption and death…

…until it suddenly just stopped. Aerith felt its confusion, followed by relief, and then the Planet crowded around her like it usually did, its many voices now focused on her, overwhelming as usual.

“What happened to him?” she asked and thought of Sephiroth, because she figured he had been the reason for the anger.

 _Gone!_ The Planet’s cry was joyful. _The Calamity, gone! Corruption, no more!_ She wasn’t sure what that meant, but that wasn’t what she was supposed to be focusing on right now. The Planet seemed to understand her intent and didn’t even try to argue for once, clearly having been left in a good mood by whatever had just happened. Within moments, she could feel raindrops falling on her face. Aerith opened her eyes and looked up, watching as the rain fell through the hole in the roof where Zack had fallen through on the day they’d met.

“Is that it?” Genesis asked, stumbling forward, clearly intending to test if a shower would solve his problems, but he didn’t get very far.

Water burst up from the floor like a fountain in the middle of the flowerbed, and Aerith had to leap back as more and more of the wooden planks on the floor fell away to make room for the water that came rushing up from the earth and falling from the sky. Suddenly, there was an entire spring of crystalline clear water where her flowers had been.

“Oh… My flowers”, Aerith said meekly, wondering if she hadn’t overdone it a little bit. In her defence, she hadn’t exactly known what she was doing.

“Am I supposed to just… go for a swim in this?” Genesis approached and eyed the spring distastefully. “I don’t know…”

Aerith couldn’t resist. She whacked him with her staff hard enough to make him lose his footing, causing him to fall into the water with a yelp. He disappeared under the surface for a moment, then came up hissing and spitting, eyes widened in something that looked like wonder. The water was deep enough to reach up to his chest.

“Is it cold?” Aerith couldn’t resist teasing him.

“I think… it’s doing something”, he exclaimed, and then disappeared back underneath the surface again. When he next came up, Aerith realised that the grey streaks were fading from his hair and his face was getting some colour back. “I… I feel better!”

“Miraculous”, Lazard murmured and approached the spring, taking a fancy white glove off to reach down and touch the water with his fingertips. “To think there was a cure right here all along…”

“Could this be used to help other sick people too?” Yuffie asked, peering at the water hesitantly from behind Lazard.

“I… suppose it could, unless it only works on Jenova-related ailments”, Aerith said. She hadn’t had time to think that far.

“I can’t believe it!” Genesis laughed incredulously and turned to look at Aerith, smiling so genuinely that it caught her off guard. He looked so much younger, so much more energetic now. “It worked! You cured me!”

Aerith sank to her knees and reached out to the Planet again, wondering if it still loathed Genesis, but the Planet was busy rejoicing over something she couldn’t quite grasp. Before she knew it, it had stopped echoing in her head and faded back into the background noise it usually tended to manifest as. All except one single presence that lingered at the forefront, oddly determined in its singularity.

“Hello?” she murmured. For a moment, she wondered if it was Sephiroth, but it didn’t feel like the cold, seething presence of his future self at all. Instead, it felt warm and welcoming, yet relentlessly stubborn, and she got the strangest feeling that it wanted something from her. Somehow, she got the feeling she was supposed to pull it closer. It was hard to grasp, but she still managed to gather it all together until it began to feel almost tangible.

 _Hello._ That was… a voice, one she didn’t recognise.

 _You’re not… supposed to be here_ , was the only thing Aerith could think. People weren’t supposed to retain their sense of self in the Lifestream.

 _We should change that, then. Maybe I should be somewhere else_ , the voice replied, sounding amused. There had to be something tying this person to the tangible world. Aerith tried to follow the strands of connection she could feel, and…

Angie barked and rushed past her to leap into the water. Aerith allowed himself to be amused at his antics – aww, he wanted to take a bath with Genesis – before going back to trying to tie down the presence in her mind. However, the very moment she did so, something seemed to snap into place, just as she heard a splash and watched Angie disappear into the spring. _Oh._ She wasn’t sure what she had done, but she had definitely done _something_.

Aerith got to her feet just as a bright flash of light emanating from the spring filled her vision. It died down as quickly as it happened, leaving them all startled and confused. Genesis in particular splashed wildly in his attempt to turn around to see what the source of the light had been. Ripples formed on the water’s surface, and Aerith expected Angie to stick his head up any moment now.

Only, when something did rise up from the spring… it wasn’t Angie. It was… a man. A man in a SOLDIER uniform, whom she recognised from blurry pictures Zack had shown her when they’d just started dating. A man that by any and all rules of common sense should not be standing there alive, but apparently Ifalna hadn’t been kidding when she’d told Aerith that the Cetra were capable of things that should be impossible.

Aerith dropped her staff. Yuffie shrieked. The triplets came stumbling back inside with their weapons drawn. Lazard dropped his glove into the water. And Genesis… froze on the spot, too many emotions to count drifting across his face in a matter of seconds. His lips moved but he didn’t seem able to make a sound. Aerith got a feeling LOVELESS quotes weren’t going to be enough this time.

“…Angeal?” Genesis finally managed to choke out. His voice was small, completely disbelieving.

“Genesis.” Angeal smiled warmly, and Genesis let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob.

“Angeal!” he repeated, with more urgency, his shock slowly giving way to an expression so full of adoration that it made Aerith feel like she wasn’t supposed to be watching.

Aerith had no doubt that Genesis would have run if he could, but instead he simply stumbled clumsily through the water until he reached Angeal and shamelessly flung himself into his arms, burying his face against Angeal’s shoulder and letting out a wailing sound. Angeal took it all in stride, catching Genesis and wrapping his arms around him effortlessly.

“…How?” was the only thing Lazard managed to exclaim.

“I… have no idea”, Aerith said, mind racing to come up with an explanation. The presence she’d felt had to have been Angeal, the copy carrying his genes had somehow been enough to keep him tied to the physical world, and then the healing water had caused some sort of chain reaction… and that was about as far as she got trying to find an explanation for how she had somehow managed to _revive a man from the dead_.

“You’re even more of a miracle worker than I thought, Miss Gainsborough”, Lazard declared, sounding completely blown away. Aerith could only nod, staring at Genesis and Angeal, who were now touching foreheads, whispering to each other in soft, breathless voices.

“Angeal”, she called, feeling a bit guilty for interrupting their moment. “Do you… have any idea how this happened?”

“Ah, well…” Angeal turned his head to look towards Aerith, causing Genesis to sigh forlornly and press his forehead against the side of Angeal’s head instead. “It’s… not exactly easy to explain. I was dead, but I could still somewhat control my copy. I could have let go and allowed myself fade into the Lifestream, but, well…” He gave her a sheepish look. “…I felt guilty for abandoning the people who mattered the most to me so carelessly. I told myself I wasn’t ready to move on.”

“Unresolved business… just like a good old-fashioned haunting”, Genesis murmured. “You’re such a romantic, dear.” Aerith had to confess that she’d never seen a person as euphoric as Genesis was right now, but then again he’d just been cured from a deadly illness and then there was the part where Aerith had just _revived a man from the dead_ , excuse her for not getting over that so easily!

“And then, I… could suddenly feel Sephiroth”, Angeal continued. “I’m not sure how I knew it was him, but… I just knew, somehow.”

“Sephiroth?” Genesis’s attention perked up again. “You mean… in the Lifestream?”

“Yes. But… he wasn’t going to stay there. I felt him use his sheer force of will to pull himself out of it, and I thought… hey, maybe I could do that too?” Angeal’s lips curled into a smile as he turned back to look at Genesis. “So, I thought of how much I wanted to come back to you and followed Sephiroth’s lead.”

“Gods, you defied death to come back to me.” Genesis was shaking by now. If he hadn’t been firmly secure in Angeal’s arms, he would probably have keeled over.

“This young lady and the healing water helped, of course.” Angeal turned to Aerith once again, bowing his head to her in gratitude. “I don’t think I could have actually come back without your help. Thank you.”

“You’re… welcome”, Aerith said, realising that she would now also have to add breaking it to Zack that she’d brought his mentor back from the dead to the program. As if introducing the triplets to her mom wasn’t enough of a stressful thought.

“Where is Sephiroth, anyway?” Angeal asked, finally beginning to make his way up out of the water. Genesis remained in his arms, clinging to him as if he expected him to disappear the moment he let go. “I expected he’d be here.”

“Last thing we knew, he was in the Lifestream, but if you said he’s not there anymore…” Genesis frowned, leaning his head against one of Angeal’s shoulder pads with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“He’s not. The Planet said so as well”, Aerith said, wondering if they should be worried. The future version of Sephiroth had been nefarious to say the least… but they had no way of knowing for sure which version of Sephiroth was the one Angeal was talking about…

“Excuse me”, Kadaj said, slowly lowering his sword. Yazoo and Loz followed his lead and put their weapons away as well. Aerith was surprised the triplets had managed to stay quiet for this long. “But who is this man?”

“Dearest nephews…” Genesis’s lips curled into a grin. “I’d like to introduce you to your uncle Angeal.”


	32. Zack

Zack was pretty sure that until now, he’d never needed sleep this badly in his life. But this was no time to whine; he had to stay on guard, remain alert, if he wanted to finish this once and for all. As they got closer and closer to the Shinra building, he felt himself getting more and more on edge. It filled him with the need to crack a joke to lighten the mood, but Cloud, Tifa and Vincent were all equally tense and he had a feeling they wouldn’t appreciate it right now. He typed up a text to Kunsel and sent it.

_hey dude, i’m back in midgar now, where u at?_

“Zack”, Cloud murmured. “You think this is gonna work out?”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine!” Zack replied, automatically trying to reassure him. He was sure they had a pretty good chance to pull this off; he knew there were many people in SOLDIER who were unhappy about the current state of Shinra and who would gladly support a radical change like this. Zack’s phone buzzed and he checked Kunsel’s reply.

_at hq. zack, i swear i’m gonna have to kick ur ass if u don’t explain what’s going on!_

It was hard to resist grinning. Zack wished he could see Kunsel’s face right now. The guy always seemed to know everything, so it was kind of fun to be the one leading him along for once.

_whatever do you mean? ;)_

_stop messing with me, man. everyone knows by now that u stole a helicopter for some reason & u come back to midgar just as a mako reactor randomly has a meltdown? i’m not stupid_

…Huh? That… was new. As far as he knew, reactor meltdowns hadn’t been a part of the program. Kunsel was right, though. That was… a very strange coincidence.

_i had no idea about the reactor, i swear!! c’mon man, we’re bros, i thought u trusted me?? :’(_

_yeah, yeah, sure. are u coming back to hq? most of the ppl stationed here were sent off to deal w/ the meltdown, so security is pretty lax_

_inviting me back even when u think i’m up to something suspicious? dude, now who’s the one being suspicious? lol_

It wasn’t that he actually thought Kunsel would sell him out or anything; if he hadn’t trusted Kunsel, he wouldn’t have asked him to keep him updated on the situation at Shinra. Kunsel’s reply did nothing to change that.

_oh shut up, don’t u have any faith in me? i could’ve told everyone that i was keeping in touch with u but i haven’t. now get over here so u can explain to me what’s going on. take the side entrance, go up the staircase & i’ll meet u on the SOLDIER floor._

_ok! will be there soon ;)_

“We’re meeting up with Kunsel once we get to the Shinra building”, he announced.

“Is that a good idea?” Cloud asked, as he’d expected. “Are you sure we can trust him? We can’t let this ruin everything.”

“Just trust my judgment on this, Cloud! I know the guy, and like we’ve been saying, most of the guys in SOLDIER are unhappy with Shinra and would definitely follow me and Sephiroth over…” He trailed off, watching Cloud’s face fall and instantly regretting mentioning Sephiroth. “Shit. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologise… wasn’t your fault”, Cloud murmured. “It was mine. I was so naïve…”

“You shouldn’t blame yourself”, Vincent cut in, much to Zack’s surprise. “I’m certain you did the best you could. If you want to put the blame on someone, put it on me. I should have come with you inside the Temple. Maybe I could have…”

“How about nobody takes the blame?” Tifa interrupted. “The only one to blame is the Sephiroth from Cloud’s future, right? Feeling sorry for yourselves isn’t going to change that!”

“…Yeah, you’re right, Tifa”, Cloud said with a sigh. “I just… keep expecting everything to reset at any moment, so that all of my progress will be erased. I have no idea what the hell Sephiroth is doing and it stresses me out. I don’t want to start over again…”

Once they managed to resolve this, Zack decided he was going to make sure Cloud would get a break. He’d tuck Cloud into bed himself if he had to! His heart lurched painfully at the thought that Sephiroth should have been here to comfort Cloud. His brain refused to firmly define Sephiroth as dead, partly to Cloud’s own insistence that he wasn’t, but it was hard not to mourn anyway, because the Sephiroth he knew might very well be gone. It left him feeling confused, more than anything else.

But he could mourn later, Zack decided as they reached the Shinra building. For now, he would focus on the mission at hand. There weren’t any people around outside, and when Zack gestured for the others to follow him over to the side entrance, they found nobody was guarding that entrance either.

“Typical Shinra”, Vincent noted as Zack tried the door and found it open.

“Yeah”, Cloud agreed. “I’ve pulled so many weird stunts to get into places I’m not supposed to be in this building and they rarely ever notice.” 

“I wonder what your mom would think if I told her about your escapades”, Tifa said.

“Don’t you dare say a word about any of this to her.”

They ascended the stairs in silence, Zack taking the lead with Cloud and Tifa right on his heels, while Vincent lingered a few steps behind them. It was kind of eerie, really. The staircase was dark, quiet and unchanging, as if it spiralled on forever. Zack kept expecting someone to come storming out of one of the many doors they passed on their way up. Jeez, there were so many floors! Kunsel was supposed to be waiting on the 49th floor, but how was he supposed to keep track of which floor they were at?!

It turned out not to be a problem, because suddenly, when he rounded another corner, he found Kunsel sitting on the stairway, forcing him to skid to a halt.

“All right, how about you explain what you’re up to?”

“We’re, um…” Zack was suddenly uncertain about how to explain this. “…We’re kind of… planning to overthrow Shinra? And… we were hoping that you could… help us convince everyone in SOLDIER to be on our side?” He flashed Kunsel his most charismatic grin.

“I had a feeling you were up to something like that… Your two infantryman friends were acting so damn weird about the whole thing…” Kunsel groaned.

“We weren’t!” Cher’s voice echoed along with his footsteps as he came rushing down the stairs, Dick right behind him. “Hey guys!” He hung over the railing with a grin on his face.

“You haven’t been very inconspicuous”, Dick mumbled and elbowed him.

“So, you and Sephiroth are just gonna take over the entire damn company, huh?” Kunsel sounded impressed. “Where’s Sephiroth anyway? Did he send you to do the heavy work?”

“He’s…” Zack stumbled over his own words but decided to roll with it. “…Yeah. We’re taking care of the main operation.”

“What’s Hojo doing right now?” Cloud asked suddenly.

“He’s definitely been up to something over the last few days, but I haven’t been able to find out what. The man’s good at keeping secrets. Not even his scientist colleagues seem to be sure…” Kunsel let out a sigh. “As far as I know, he’s in his lab. How so…?”

“We’re going to take care of Hojo. Leaving the President to you”, Vincent said and swept past them all to continue up the stairs, cloak billowing behind him. Kunsel stared after him, mouth falling open.

“Good luck, Zack!” Tifa stated and punched his upper arm playfully as she passed him as well. Cloud followed her but stopped and turned back to give Zack a melancholy look.

“…Don’t get hurt”, he choked out before rushing after Vincent and Tifa.

“All right.” Zack looked Kunsel, Dick and Cher over. “I’ve got to kill the President. It’s up to you if you wanna try to stop me or not.”

“You seriously suggesting we’d be dumb enough to try to take on a SOLDIER 1st? Don’t make me laugh.” Cher stuck out his tongue. “As long as you don’t fire me when you’re done, I’m not complaining.”

“What he said”, Dick agreed.

“You know SOLDIER stands with you, Zack”, Kunsel said. “But I’m not gonna rush into the President’s office with you, dude – in case you screw up, I’m not gonna be held accountable.” His lips curled into a wry grin. “If the President survives and you get caught, I never saw you come through here. Now get going.”

“Thanks”. Zack said, genuinely grateful, and slipped past them through the door out onto the SOLDIER floor. Kunsel had been right; it was oddly empty here as well right now. Thanks, weirdly convenient reactor meltdown. He approached the closest elevator, slipped inside and used his key-card that granted him access to the higher floors. He wouldn’t get all the way up with it, though; after he’d been clumsy enough to lose his key-card somewhere a while back, they’d given him a downgraded replacement as punishment, much to his chagrin. This meant he’d have to somehow find a way onto the stairs for the last few floors…

As he stepped out onto Floor 60, he found himself face to face with Cissnei, who was leaning against a wall with her shuriken in hand, as if she’d known he would show up.

“Causing several reactor meltdowns as a distraction. Clever”, she said. Oh, there had been several now?

“Would you believe that I actually had absolutely nothing to do with that?” Zack found himself reaching for his Buster Sword, but hesitated.

“Not really.” She tilted her head as she observed him with an unreadable look. “Why did you betray Shinra, Zack? You had to have known that there would be consequences. You can’t just come waltzing back as if nothing happened.”

“Cissnei, I’m not just here to pretend nothing happened. Get out of the way or I’m gonna have to use force”, Zack warned her. She raised an eyebrow.

“Try me”, she retorted.

“All right, fine!” Zack cast Sleepel. She didn’t even bat an eye.

“Did you think the same trick would work twice?” Cissnei crossed her arms and gave him an exasperated look. Now that Zack took a closer look at her, there was a Ribbon tied around her arm. “Sleep-proof equipment, dork. I expected more from a SOLDIER.”

…Oh, wow. He was glad Tifa wasn’t here to see this. Zack couldn’t help the nervous laugh that escaped him. He didn’t want to have to use force against Cissnei! She was his friend! Had been? Maybe they weren’t friends anymore. Regardless, he didn’t want to hurt her!

“I don’t want to fight!” he confessed. “Please just let me pass! You know just as well as anyone else how rotten Shinra really is! It has to change!”

“I’m a Turk, and Turks are loyal to their own”, Cissnei said firmly. “We follow the orders we’re given, regardless of… personal feelings.” Still, her voice wavered at the end, just a little. She still had her doubts.

Before Zack could make a final decision on what to do, the lights flickered once, then twice, before dying out completely. Zack and Cissnei shared a _look_. Not once, in all the years Zack had worked for Shinra, had there been a power outage in this building, no matter how big of an emergency it was. Something was going on.

“I didn’t cause this!” he said quickly. Cissnei opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. She flinched, still keeping her shuriken raised as she picked up the phone.

“Tseng, this isn’t a good moment.” Her annoyed expression quickly shifted into something more urgent. “No, seriously, Zack is here and – what do you mean? He’s not on our… okay, okay, fine! Give us a moment!” She hung up and shoved her phone back into her pocket, lowering her weapon. “Something happened. We need to go.”

“We? Go where?”

“To the President’s office. Tseng wouldn’t clarify anything, only that it’s urgent and he didn’t seem to care if you came with.” 

“O… kay?” Zack supposed he could roll with that. At least he’d be a step closer to where he needed to be… Even if he walked his way into a Turk ambush or something, he would find a way out of it! Cissnei turned on her heel and rushed towards the stairs, and Zack followed.

The closer they got, the more disturbing this whole thing began to feel. The electronic locks had all been disabled by the power outage, so there was no need for key-cards, even though Cissnei would surely have been able to use hers. They reached Floor 69 and were immediately greeted by Tseng, who was pacing back and forth in front of the stairs that led up to the President’s office.

“Took you long enough.” He gave Zack a displeased look. “Was the trouble you caused really worth it?”

“Aerith is safe!” Zack informed him immediately, because despite everything, he felt like he at least owed Tseng that much. Tseng nodded, but the tense expression on his face didn’t lighten.

“Tseng, what happened?” Cissnei questioned.

“…It’s better if you see for yourselves”, Tseng said and began to ascend up the stairs, clearly expecting them to follow. Zack wasn’t sure what to expect at all, yet the sight that awaited them at the top of the stairs still caught him completely off guard.

The President’s office was in disarray. It looked like a whirlwind had swept through the room. All the windows were broken, and the glass had scattered everywhere. The floor felt sticky as Zack walked across it, and upon further inspection, he realised that it was because there was Mako all over it, glowing ominously in the darkness. There were feathers too; dark Mako-covered feathers mingling with the puddles and the shards and creating a very strange sight.

And then he saw the President, hunched over his desk… with a very familiar sword sticking out of his back.


	33. Cloud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In a sudden plot twist, I received my copy of FFVII Remake yesterday! I've decided to hold off until the 10th so that I can play it along with everyone else, but I'm not gonna lie, it feels amazing to be able to hold the game in my hands!! We're almost there, I hope everyone's hanging in there <3

The Science Department wasn’t a place Cloud had been particularly enthusiastic to return to. However, the desire to kill Hojo for everything he’d done was enough to make him determined to go through with this anyway. The continuous ascent upstairs was tiring him out, and Vincent ended up getting way ahead of him and Tifa to the point that they didn’t even see him in front of them anymore.

“Wow, he’s got stamina”, Tifa said between gasps for air. “You think I could ask them to make me Mako-enhanced too?”

“You wouldn’t wanna be in his shoes, trust me”, Cloud replied.

They caught up to Vincent at the top of the stairs just as the lights flickered and went out. The stairway was dim enough already, but now they were left in total darkness. 

“Okay, what the hell?” Cloud exclaimed. This gave him a bad feeling. His heart was already racing from the work-out the stairs had given him, but now it felt even harder to breathe for an entirely different reason.

“Let’s go”, Vincent simply said and opened the door that led into the building proper. It was equally dark in there, and as they traversed across the floor, they found it empty and lifeless. No guards, no… anything. This… was concerning to say the least.

“Something’s wrong, isn’t it?” Tifa asked. Cloud nodded, hoping more than anything that Zack was okay. Could they have walked into a trap?

They took the stairs up to Floor 68 in tense silence. No electronic locks could stop them, so at least the blackout was convenient for that. Cloud wasn’t sure if the key-card he’d stolen from Zack would have worked anymore at this point.

Once they reached the final door that led into the labs, Cloud had to take a moment to stop and just breathe. He felt helpless and uncertain, and couldn’t let go of his conflicting thoughts about Sephiroth. Why had things turned out this way? They should have been here to take down Hojo together.

“Are you all right?” Tifa asked and placed a hand on his shoulder, a concerned expression on her face. He shook his head. “I’m nervous too”, she added. “It’s okay.”

“You could wait here”, Vincent said, his voice a shade softer than usual. “I can finish this on my own.”

“No. I… I need to be there”, Cloud said. “It’s fine. I…” He took a deep breath and tried to relax. “…Okay. Let’s just get this over with.”

“If you say so”, Vincent said. “I’ll do my best to keep you out of harm’s way. Make sure you leave the most dangerous parts to me.” And then he pulled open the door to the labs and stepped inside. Cloud and Tifa shared one last look, Tifa offering him a smile, before they followed.

The labs weren’t as dark as the rest of the building had been. Cloud guessed there had to be a back-up power generator or something. Made sense, considering how many dangerous experiments were presumably being kept in here.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Hojo stepped out in front of them from behind a corner. He had an unimpressed expression on his face and was pointing a handgun at them, causing them all to freeze on the spot. He’d been waiting, then. “I expected Sephiroth. Instead, I get a failed experiment and two children.”

“You knew we were coming?” Vincent’s hand was resting on his holster. Cloud could see his fingers twitching, but he was clearly not willing to risk drawing it.

“Naturally. You aren’t exactly subtle”, Hojo huffed. “You caused such a ruckus in Nibelheim… I had the opportunity to test my Reunion theory and you just had to interfere! Just when I was finally on the verge of getting some results!”

“What were you planning to do to Sephiroth?” Cloud spat.

“Why should I have to explain myself to you? Your feeble minds would never understand my genius. My greatest experiment, ruined! Absorbing more of Jenova’s cells would have made Sephiroth rise beyond scientific understanding!” Hojo threw his arms out, frustration evident on his face. “Where’s Sephiroth, anyway? The sooner he comes crawling back, the easier this will be for me.”

“Why would he want to come back?” Tifa questioned.

“Where else would he go? Sephiroth knows he belongs here. He understands his purpose as a weapon. Eventually he’ll tire of pretending to be human and give in to his true nature. No matter how many resilient brats try to lead him astray.” Hojo smirked, and it took everything Cloud had to restrain himself and not leap at him this very instant. He bit down on his lip, trying to prevent himself from saying anything stupid.

“Hojo, what you’ve done to Sephiroth is unforgivable”, Vincent said in his stead. “It’s time for you to answer for your sins.”

“My sins, you say?” Hojo began to cackle. “I welcome you to try!”

Cloud didn’t even have time to react. Before he knew what was happening, Vincent had pulled out his gun and fired a bullet into Hojo’s chest. His shirt darkened with blood, but Hojo didn’t keel over and die. Instead, he simply continued to laugh.

“What?” Cloud didn’t need to look over at Tifa to tell how much of a shock this was to her; he could hear it all in her small, disbelieving tone of voice.

“I’ve injected myself with the Jenova cells I had left…” Hojo’s grin grew wide, too wide to look entirely natural. “If Sephiroth refuses to show himself, I will create my own Reunion and make him come to me!”

Cloud steeled himself for what he knew was coming. It didn’t make him any less horrified by the sight of Hojo’s body beginning to twist and turn unnaturally until all that was left was a grotesque mutation. He expected a reaction from Tifa that involved at least a little bit of fear, but when he glanced over at her, she was already slipping into a fighting stance.

The last time he’d fought Hojo, he’d been enhanced. Right now, he felt weak, insignificant, barely able to keep his rifle steady in his hands as Vincent fired off more shots and Tifa dashed forward to rain down kicks and punches.

Okay, shit. He couldn’t just stand here and be completely helpless. He was Cloud fucking Strife, and no amount of time loop nonsense was going to change that. He cast a Blizzaga, silently wishing he’d had the idea of asking the Remnants if he could have their Bahamut Materia earlier. Causing that amount of havoc was a pretty tempting idea right now. 

Things dissolved into chaos rather quickly after that. It was hard to keep an eye on Tifa to make sure she was okay while simultaneously dodging the attacks the mutated Hojo fired off towards him and also trying to counterattack. At least he trusted that Vincent had things under control – he had dropped the guns and shifted into the Galian Beast at some point, but Cloud wasn’t sure when. Something exploded – he didn’t know whose attack had caused it – and suddenly there was a hole where one entire side of the wall had been, giving them a view of the city below.

Hojo’s enormous clawed hand suddenly struck Cloud hard enough to send him stumbling back, nearly tumbling over the edge and falling to his certain death. Thankfully, Tifa was there to grab him by the arm and pull him up before he even completely managed to process what exactly had just happened, but he lost his grip on his rifle and watched as it fell, doomed to be crushed on the pavement far below. At least it was just the rifle and not him.

“And here I thought you were supposed to be looking out for me, and not the other way around”, Tifa said and leapt right back into the battle before he could even thank her. Cloud couldn’t help letting out a breathless laugh. Maybe Tifa had a point after all.

Still, it was becoming evident that they were at a standstill. Hojo wasn’t exactly wiping the floor with them, but they couldn’t seem to make any progress in actually taking him down. Vincent was putting in most of the work, while Cloud and Tifa were probably causing more chip damage than anything else… so when Hojo managed to hurl Vincent against a wall that collapsed on top of him, reverting him back into human form and trapping him under the rubble, it was becoming increasingly evident that this wasn’t going as smoothly as Cloud had hoped.

“Vincent”, Tifa gasped and spun around to bolt towards him just as Hojo attacked again, with some sort of magic attack this time – it tore a hole right through the floor, effectively splitting the room in two, creating a rift with Tifa and Vincent on one side, and Cloud on the other.

Cloud wasn’t really worried about Vincent; he figured a near-immortal man could take a hit or two if he could fall down a waterfall and remain unharmed. He was more worried about himself, because Hojo was crawling rapidly towards him with the sort of speed a mutated heap of flesh really shouldn’t have been capable of. Cloud backed away, but it left him trapped between Hojo and the hole in the wall he’d nearly tumbled out of just a while ago.

“Shit”, he hissed under his breath, putting all his focus into weaving together the strongest Thundaga he could muster, hoping it would be enough to at least distract Hojo for a bit, so that he could scurry out of harm’s way.

However, he didn’t even have the time to put this plan into motion. A spell that Cloud quickly identified as a Shadow Flare came hurtling through where the wall had been, passing Cloud by without even touching him and hitting Hojo hard enough to send him tumbling back with a wrathful screech. Cloud turned his head to see who had cast it, even though deep down, he already knew. His heart still nearly stopped at the sight of the figure that descended from the skies.

Sephiroth looked every bit like he had the day he’d fought Cloud above the ruins of this very building. His eyes were glowing, his face etched into a stony mask, his wing spread out to create an ominous silhouette… With a flick of his wrist, Masamune, covered in blood, appeared in his hand.

“I knew you’d come.” Hojo’s voice was warbled, distorted, but Cloud thought he could still hear mirth in it. “You can’t resist… the call to Reunion!”

“I’m not here for your sake.” Sephiroth’s voice was ice-cold as his feet touched down, placing himself firmly between Hojo and Cloud. “I will not let Mother’s legacy define me any longer.”

“Selfish, entitled child! You have a purpose to fulfil!”

“Yes…” Sephiroth’s lips curled into an ominous smirk, and the dangerous glint in his eyes only seemed clearer now. He hadn’t looked Cloud’s way for a single moment; he was completely focused on Hojo. “I do have purpose. Just not in the way you intended.”

“I created you!” Hojo hissed. “You should be grateful!”

“You’ve given me nothing to be grateful for”, Sephiroth said, and then he charged.

Cloud had never seen anything as mesmerising as the way Sephiroth moved as he launched his attack on Hojo. He was just a little bit too graceful, too quick, too calculated to be completely human, practically dancing out of the way of every attempt at countering Hojo made. It could have lasted seconds, or minutes – Cloud couldn’t tell – but suddenly, Sephiroth had taken Hojo’s head clean off his mutated shoulders. Hojo’s body crumbled to the floor, and that was it. It was over, just like that.

Out of the corner of his eye, Cloud saw that Tifa was helping Vincent out of the rubble, but he couldn’t bring himself to focus on them. Not when Sephiroth was standing right there, slowly turning to face Cloud. Cloud’s heart sank. He couldn’t tell. Why couldn’t he tell?

“You know… I’ve always wanted to do that.” Sephiroth finally turned to Cloud, a mirthless smile on his face. There was still something alien about him, something that hadn’t been present in him in this timeline, at least not visibly so… but he wasn’t smirking in that condescending way, he wasn’t talking about sailing the cosmos…

“You… idiot!” Cloud started marching towards Sephiroth with the intent of punching him in the face but by the time he reached him, all he wanted was to throw his arms around him and cry his heart out. He stopped in front of Sephiroth, teeth and fists clenched, heart racing in a terrifying mix of fear and hope.

“Cloud”, Sephiroth said in a breathless whisper, expression entirely unreadable. Somehow, Cloud thought he looked terrified too.

“Are you… you know…” Cloud hesitated; he didn’t want to ask, because he was afraid of the answer he would get. “… _my_ Sephiroth?”

Sephiroth didn’t seem to know what to say to that. He stared blankly forward at Cloud, as if he wasn’t quite all there, but then Masamune suddenly cluttered to the floor and before Cloud knew it, he was being swept up into a tight embrace, so tight that he could barely breathe. Sephiroth smelled of Mako and blood, but Cloud couldn’t bring himself to care about that. Not right now.

“I’m always your Sephiroth”, Sephiroth whispered, some sort of raw and incomprehensible emotion shining through. “And you’re my Cloud. My precious, precious Cloud.”

His fears faded away, and hope shifted into relief. Cloud clung to Sephiroth and cried.


	34. Sephiroth

Sephiroth had crawled his way out of the Lifestream with single-minded fervour and manifested within one of Midgar’s Mako reactors, which he then proceeded to break beyond repair, just because he could, before heading to break a few more, just to really drive the point home. It would send a fitting message to Shinra, show off that he was on his way… He’d taken joy in it, but was unsure if it was because he simply revelled in causing mindless destruction now or if he was just longing for righteous revenge against the people who had wronged him. It didn’t matter, he’d decided then, at least not until those people were dead. He’d have time to ponder what he’d become afterwards. No need to think now, only act.

He was still riding the satisfying high that killing the President and Hojo consecutively had left him with, until the moment Cloud broke down in his arms. It was as if seeing Cloud like that finally snapped things right back into place. He remembered _everything_ , even though the memories didn’t feel quite like his own. All the pain he had caused Cloud simply because he could, because he wanted Cloud to hurt as much as he did… It sickened him. He wished he didn’t have to remember any of it. Did he not already have enough horrible memories to burden him?

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tifa and Vincent approaching. It was an automatic reaction he didn’t really have any control over at all – they weren’t a threat, he knew that, but his mind automatically registered them as such. They’d take Cloud away from him, they’d tell him to leave Cloud alone and he couldn’t, not right now…!

He clung to Cloud tight as he took off, soaring into the air and landing on the roof of the Shinra building. The last place they’d fought – no, no, that hadn’t been him, he wasn’t that monster! Even if he had those memories, he couldn’t allow them to define him…

Regardless, Cloud seemed to have made the same connection regarding the location, because he managed to wriggle himself out of Sephiroth’s grip and stumbled back, staring at Sephiroth with such an alarmed and confused expression that it broke Sephiroth’s heart.

“It’s all right now, Cloud… It’s all right…” Sephiroth felt like he was trying to convince himself as much as Cloud. Cloud stared at him, unconvinced, and he desperately kept talking as he slowly stepped closer. “I’m not going to hurt you, you’re safe, I promise, it’s over now and I’m so, so sorry…” He knew he was rambling, but the words just kept flowing from his mouth.

“Sephiroth”, Cloud choked out, and he sounded so broken, so desperate, and it was all Sephiroth’s fault that he was like this… And then Cloud ran to him, threw his arms around Sephiroth and clung to him. Sephiroth felt his breath hitch. Cloud was so warm, and he felt like he’d been cold for so long…

“I’m sorry”, he whispered, pressing his head down into Cloud’s hair and returning Cloud’s embrace a bit more desperately than he’d intended. His legs were getting unsteady, so he sank to the ground, pulling Cloud down with him. “I’m so sorry, Cloud, please don’t hate me, please…”

He felt like he was being torn apart, a myriad of memories driving him in different directions. Cloud was the one consistency between them, the only thing that kept him grounded; right now, he needed Cloud more than he needed air, and if Cloud didn’t feel the same way he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with himself…

“I don’t hate you…!” Cloud pressed his head against Sephiroth’s chest, arms firmly holding on to Sephiroth’s waist. “You came back to me, thank the gods, I thought… I thought…” He was crying, Sephiroth realised. “…I thought I lost you! Never do that again!”

“I won’t”, Sephiroth murmured, daring to lift his hand to stroke Cloud’s back. “Please don’t cry, Cloud, I won’t leave…”

“Damn right you won’t”, Cloud retorted and grabbed Sephiroth’s chin to tug him in for a kiss. Oh gods, he hadn’t realised how overwhelming this would be. The part of him that hadn’t known a gentle touch in too many years to count reeled under Cloud’s hands and he found himself flinching away before he even knew what he was doing, before their lips could meet.

“Wait”, he said and watched as Cloud’s expression shifted into confusion. “I… I can’t.” He needed to tell Cloud what had happened, how he wasn’t what Cloud wanted anymore, because Cloud deserved better than loving a monster…

“Why not?” Cloud’s voice was hoarse, and his tears hadn’t stopped falling. “Please, I need to… I need to know you’re really here.”

“I… I don’t…” How was he supposed to say no, when Cloud was begging for it so desperately? He didn’t know what to say or do at all, not when his head felt so muddled and the reality of the situation was too painful to face. Maybe Cloud had been able to accept him before, even though he was broken, but he’d broken himself even further to get back to Cloud. Was there even anything left for Cloud to want from him, now?

“Sephiroth…?” Cloud’s hands came up to touch his face, and Sephiroth realised all too late that he was crying too. Cloud was here with him, didn’t hate him, wanted to touch him; it was all so overwhelming and that same terrified part of him wanted to scream because finally, _finally he wasn’t alone anymore…!_

“I… don’t deserve this…” But he was still unable to resist leaning into the touch.

“Shh”, Cloud whispered, stroking his hair through hitching breaths and seeping tears. “Shh, Sephiroth, of course you do. It’s okay, I’ve got you…”

“I was so alone”, Sephiroth choked out. “I… Cloud, I…” There were so many things he wanted to say but he couldn’t, because there was no way he could say it that didn’t hurt.

“You’re not alone anymore”, Cloud murmured. “I’m right here with you…” And then he pressed his head into the crook of Sephiroth’s neck and shook with more barely held-back sobs.

They sat there for longer than Sephiroth cared to keep track of, but as far as he was concerned, he would’ve been happy to sit there forever. Cloud, curled against him, whispering sweet comfort into his ear while touching him gently, wiping his tears away and fighting back tears on his own… Sephiroth had never taken anything Cloud had given him for granted, but right now, when he felt so undeserving of all of this, it meant more than it ever had before. He needed to say something to comfort Cloud too, but he felt like he would be doing so under false pretences.

“I was so scared that the wrong one would come back…” Cloud let out a nervous laugh which echoed ominously in the silence around them. “…but then again, you could be pretending as well, right? I know you said you were my Sephiroth, but I… I’m scared.” He looked so ashamed of himself. “I couldn’t tell the last time, so what if I can’t tell now? I keep thinking you might be lying…”

“I don’t know what to tell you”, Sephiroth whispered, feeling his heart sink. “I’m… I’m not…” He didn’t know how to say it. More tears fell from his eyes and he had to choke back a sob while watching Cloud’s eyes widen.

“Oh gods, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… Sorry, I’m just being paranoid, I…!” Cloud was starting to backtrack, but Sephiroth couldn’t let him do that. He couldn’t hide this from Cloud, because it would only hurt more if he tried to pretend it was all right.

“No, you’re… you’re right to be worried”, Sephiroth confessed. “We merged, in the Lifestream, because it was the only way to get back here. It left me with _his_ memories as well. I remember everything, all the things I did to hurt you, and I…” He swallowed down the nausea. “I feel… disgusted.”

Cloud was quiet for a moment. Sephiroth’s heart was racing and he felt sicker and sicker with himself the longer Cloud kept giving him that unreadable expression.

“Even if you have his memories, you’re not him”, Cloud said firmly. “You can’t be. He would never let me see him like this.” He wiped the tears off Sephiroth’s cheeks, as if to drive home a point. “And he wouldn’t regret what he did, either.”

Sephiroth wasn’t sure how to respond to that, because a part of him did feel like he had done all those things and he did regret them. But maybe Cloud had a point. His hatred for all of humanity, his desire to achieve godhood, his need to hurt others just for momentary satisfaction… It had all faded away, even though the memories remained. Maybe he wasn’t the same as he’d been before, but he certainly wasn’t Cloud’s worst nightmare incarnate either.

“I love you so much”, he whispered. “Please don’t leave me.”

“You’re still so terrified of me leaving…” Cloud pulled him back into a tight embrace. “I’m not gonna blame you for something you didn’t do. You’ve got an extra set of memories that don’t belong to you, so what? You’re still you.”

“I don’t feel like it”, Sephiroth admitted quietly. How was he supposed to just move on from hurting Cloud as horribly as he had? He’d taken everything from Cloud, because he was selfish and cruel. “…You can’t go back to your original timeline anymore. It was erased from the moment I first rewound time, and I lost the power to rewind time when I…” He realised he’d been speaking in first person and sheepishly cut himself off. “…when we merged and left the Lifestream.”

“Wait”, Cloud cut him off and pulled back so they could look each other in the eye. “You… you mean… no more resetting?” A light had been lit in his eyes, and his lips were slowly starting to curl into a soft, hopeful smile.

“No more resetting”, Sephiroth repeated. “You… you don’t care about going back home?”

“After all the work I put in to fix everything here?” Cloud shook his head. “I’d never thought of going back as a possibility anyway. Sure, I’ll miss what I had, but I think I have something new here, now. With you, and with everyone else too.” He smiled, an actual, genuinely happy smile, despite the tears still lingering in his eyes.

“I don’t deserve you”, Sephiroth said. “I did so many horrible things.”

“Hey, I’ve told you this before”, Cloud said. “Let me judge who deserves me. You didn’t do any of those things anyway, okay? Got that?”

“I’m not just talking about the future. Anyone in Wutai… could have been someone’s Aerith”, Sephiroth said. That shut Cloud up, for at least a moment. Sephiroth watched his eyebrows furrow as he tilted his head. After a silence that lasted way too long, Cloud spoke again.

“Look, as much as I know you probably enjoy having discussions on ethics and morality, do you know what I think?” He crossed his arms and gave Sephiroth a firm look. “I think you’re having a really big identity crisis right now, and I feel you, but you’re not in the right state of mind to start unpacking it. You need comfort food, a nap, and a whole lot of cuddles. And a shower too, you’re covered in Mako. We can talk about all the heavy stuff later, when you’ve calmed down.”

“Cloud…” Sephiroth’s voice cracked. To think that Cloud still wanted to offer him comfort after all of this…

“I mean it. You look so absolutely fucking miserable right now that the only thing I can think about is how badly I want to help you feel better. We should let everyone else know you’re okay too. They’ve all been worried sick about you.”

“You’re… too kind, Cloud.”

“Well, maybe one of us has to be”, Cloud retorted. “Or else we’ll just go on and on and on, in an endless circle where we keep hurting each other. I’ve had enough. I don’t want to suffer anymore, and I don’t want you to suffer either.”

“I want it to end too”, Sephiroth whispered breathlessly. “I just… I just want to be happy with you.” A part of him felt ashamed to admit such weakness, but Cloud just gave him a soft smile in return, and suddenly everything seemed a little less heavy to deal with.

“I want that too.” Cloud stood up, holding his hand out for Sephiroth to take. “C’mon. Let’s go back to the others.”

Sephiroth reached his hand out. Cloud took it, and pulled him to his feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's mostly it! Just one more chapter to go for each POV character to wrap everything up properly and then we're done! I'll have started FFVII Remake by the next time I update, feels unreal... Thanks for sticking with me so far <3


	35. Aerith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taking a break from playing FFVII Remake to post this chapter ;) (It's good btw. It's so incredibly good that I almost can't believe it's real)

The news of President Shinra’s death had spread fast. It had only been a few days, and while nobody in the Slums really knew what was going on within the Company, it was evident that things had immediately descended into chaos. Zack had sent her a few texts explaining that nobody really knew what would come next and who would be in charge from now on, but hopefully they would be able to figure things out. Lazard had gone back to Shinra too, eager to reclaim his position of power, and had taken Yuffie with him so that she wouldn’t cause any trouble before negotiations with Wutai could be started.

This left Aerith with two SOLDIER 1sts and three pieces of Sephiroth to keep track of. The former two weren’t really a problem, since they had enough common sense to know that it wasn’t a good idea to go wandering around Midgar while presumed dead, no matter how much Genesis hated hiding out in an abandoned church when he could have been out there testing his newly regained strength. The triplets, on the other hand, were a handful, but at least Angeal and Genesis could keep them in check.

“What are you guys going to do from here?” Aerith asked Angeal while popping in for a visit on the third day after the President’s death. The triplets were sparring with Genesis, leaping between church pews chasing each other around. She hoped they wouldn’t break anything. “You can’t just hide out in here forever, right?”

“Director Lazard said to lay low for now”, he told her, making himself busy with tending to the flowers that were still growing around the spring. “Once it’s been established who’s in power, I’m sure he’s planning to announce that we were actually undercover on a secret assignment or something, and had to be declared dead to avoid suspicion.”

“Oh. Okay, that makes sense, I guess…” She crouched down next to him, still feeling kind of weird talking to him when his general existence was just sort of incomprehensible. The Planet didn’t scream around him and Genesis anymore either; a side-effect of their bath, she presumed. “…Did anyone let Zack know that you’re…?”

“Alive? No, not yet”, Angeal said. “Just seemed like too much to dump on him all at once. I’m sure he’s already stressing out over everything happening over at Shinra, if he hasn’t even had time to come visit you.” He glanced over at her and smirked, just a little bit. “And Genesis wants to make a big show out of it.”

“I never said that! I just want to see his face when he sees you!” Genesis yelled from the other side of the church while dancing out of the way of Kadaj’s aggressive onslaught.

Angeal opened his mouth to answer, but there was a knock on the church door that caused them all to freeze.

“You should all go hide in the back”, Aerith said and rushed over to the door. Unfortunately, none of them seemed very eager to follow her instructions; while Genesis did at least back away from the door to stand closer to Angeal, the triplets all came to circle around her like guard dogs. “What did I tell you?”

“Mother, we want to protect you!” Loz declared proudly. She was about to inform him that she was pretty sure she could protect herself from a random church visitor, but Kadaj was already storming over to the door, sword in hand, and before she could tell him off, he tore it open.

Sephiroth stepped in, raising an eyebrow at the sight of having a sword pointed at his throat. For a second, nobody moved. Then, Sephiroth swiftly grabbed Kadaj’s sword and tossed it across the room.

“No need for any of that.” His voice was calm and collected, yet Aerith could see his gaze drifting between each of the triplets almost warily. “Lower your weapons.”

“You’re…” Kadaj spluttered and took a few steps back, looking completely and utterly stunned.

“Sephiroth!” Genesis hauled Angeal along past Aerith and the triplets until they were both standing in front of Sephiroth. “Guess who’s healthy again? And guess who else conveniently got brought back from the dead?”

“Hello, Sephiroth”, Angeal said, somewhat awkwardly. “You look tired, have you been sleeping enough?”

Sephiroth froze at the sight of them. His expression didn’t visibly change much, but there were a few things, like the hitch of his breath, the slight widening of his eyes, the way his hands curled into fists…

“You’re… both really here.” He reached his hand out to touch Angeal’s shoulder, clearly not quite believing what he was seeing. “This is not possible.” Angeal reached out to touch his shoulder in return, and that made Sephiroth stumble forward to haphazardly throw his arms around Angeal in a tight hug. “Angeal…”

“We do hugs now? You’ve changed.” Angeal sounded amused as he wrapped his arms around Sephiroth in return. “I’m not saying that as a bad thing, by the way.”

“Leaving me out?” Genesis forced his way in between them, joining in on the hug as well. “Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess… Three friends reunited at last. A good way to end the story, no?”

“I didn’t deserve this.” Sephiroth’s voice was so quiet that Aerith barely heard it at first. “I didn’t deserve any of this, but still… still you both came back to me…”

“There, there”, Genesis whispered, his hand coming up to stroke Sephiroth’s back. “We’re here now. I’m sorry for all the things I said and did to you while I was sick. I wasn’t fair to you.”

“We should never have left you behind to begin with”, Angeal murmured. “Genesis told me all about how alone you’ve been without us. But not anymore. We’ll make it up to you.”

Sephiroth didn’t even say anything to that. Aerith couldn’t see his face, hidden behind a cascade of hair, but she could see him trembling. The triplets were all watching the group hug with differing expressions on their faces; Kadaj was somewhere between irritated and on edge, Yazoo looked like he was thinking very hard about something and Loz… well, he looked like he wanted a hug too.

After a while, Sephiroth untangled himself from them. Aerith took a closer look at him and realised that something about him was different. The Planet didn’t lash out at him either, but instead it just seemed… confused. As if it wanted to be angry at him but couldn’t quite bring itself to. And then he turned to look at her, eyes piercing as always.

“Aerith, I came here because I wanted to speak to you.”

“You’re not going to hurt Mother, right?” Loz asked immediately. Sephiroth turned to look at him, blinking slowly as if he wasn’t sure what to make of him.

“If you hurt Mother, we’ll kill you!” Kadaj snapped, vibrating as if he was waiting for an opportunity to leap at Sephiroth. Aerith placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping it would calm him down.

“I’m not certain… of whom you speak”, Sephiroth said, frowning. “Mother…?”

“He means me”, Aerith said and pointed to herself.

“Why… are you ‘Mother’?” Sephiroth questioned, tilting his head. “Technically… I would be their parent, I suppose, since they came from me.”

“It’s a long story”, Aerith said.

“You’re no family of ours!” Kadaj declared stubbornly and crossed his arms.

“Isn’t he, though?” Loz asked, seeming rather excited by the prospect. “We look just like him!”

“He’s family too”, Yazoo said firmly.

“It’s fine!” Aerith said and approached Sephiroth. “You said you wanted to talk. Do you want to go for a walk, then?” She wanted to get a moment alone with him, to really get a feeling for what it was that had changed about him.

“All right.” Sephiroth offered Genesis and Angeal a rare smile before heading out the door, clearly expecting Aerith to follow. Aerith ran after him, giving the triplets a reassuring grin of her own.

Sephiroth walked really fast. Aerith had to run to catch up with him, and hooked her arm around his to slow him down. He raised an eyebrow at her but didn’t try to shrug her off as they walked down the desolate road outside the church.

“So”, Aerith said, eager to get the conversation going. “How’s everything going? At Shinra I mean.”

“Nobody is certain what comes next”, Sephiroth said. “Most likely, we’ll end up with a situation where we have a committee of several people in charge. I’m letting the others squabble about it, but I’ve made it clear that there will be no more reigns of terror, and that anyone who makes an attempt to take charge on their own will end up at the edge of my blade.”

“Ooh, scary!” She tried to keep her tone light, but the phantom memory of his blade digging into her chest that suddenly decided to make itself known made her decide to change the subject. “How’s Zack doing?”

“Busy”, Sephiroth said. “Though I’m sure informing him that Angeal is suddenly magically alive would be enough to persuade him to come down here. How did that happen?”

“Not sure”, Aerith admitted with a nervous laugh. “I think… I did something, maybe? But you helped too! He was in the Lifestream and followed your example of forcing your way out! And don’t tell Zack! It should be a surprise!”

“…I see”, Sephiroth said. “I’ll… make sure to inform Zack that he really needs to come here to see you.” He fell quiet after that, and Aerith realised that she’d been doing most of the talking, even though he was the one who’d wanted to speak to her in the first place.

“Why did you want to talk to me?” she asked and watched as he grew tense,

“After returning from the Lifestream, I’ve… found myself avoiding the people important to me. Zack. Vincent. Even Cloud, to a certain degree. I feel like he… doesn’t quite understand my predicament. I thought you might.”

“Oh?” Aerith wondered if this would shed some light on the Planet’s complicated feelings towards him.

“I’m… not the same Sephiroth I was before I fell into the Lifestream.” Sephiroth was staring down at the ground as they walked, head hung low as if he was ashamed to speak about this. “I remember being me, but I also… partly remember being my future self. Everything I did…”

“That…” Aerith bit her lip, unsure what to say. “That must be awful, Sephiroth. I’m so sorry.”

“All my mistakes have been rectified. It’s as if they never happened. Even Angeal and Genesis are alive. It’s a perfect world. But I remember what my other self… what I did. It doesn’t feel right.” Sephiroth laughed joylessly and shook his head. “I don’t deserve this.”

“Of course you do!” Aerith said immediately. “You helped set things right, didn’t you? None of us would be here if you hadn’t rewound time!”

“There wouldn’t have been anything to set right if I hadn’t been so weak!” Sephiroth snapped, voice practically dripping with self-hatred. Aerith could sense the turmoil within him, dark and vast and terrifying. “I killed you in cold blood because you happened to be in my way, and I hurt everyone because I couldn’t bear my own pain… What if I end up hurting Cloud again?”

“I don’t think you will”, Aerith murmured, tightening her grip on his arm. “Whether you think you deserve it or not, you have a lot of people who care about you now. You were alone before, weren’t you? You shouldn’t try to hide from everyone. We all want to help.”

He nodded, but still looked so miserable that it hurt to look at him. Aerith decided that he needed a hug, and stopped in her tracks to throw herself at him. He froze for a moment, but then wrapped his arms around her as well.

“Thank you, Aerith”, he mumbled. “I’ll… try not to bottle everything up.”

“If you’re really worried about the Jenova cells, I could probably get rid of them for you”, Aerith said as they let go of each other. “The spring in the church healed your friends, after all.”

“…No”, Sephiroth said after a moment’s silence. “No, I won’t try to run from it.” He tilted his head and smiled at her. “Jenova and I are, for all intents and purposes, one being now. That part of me cannot be erased. I don’t expect you to understand, but…” He sighed. “…I need to accept it. I must make peace with what I am.”

“I would’ve fought you, you know”, Aerith blurted out. “I would’ve given everything I had to save everyone.”

“I know”, Sephiroth said. “Your sense of duty is remarkable… but you have nothing to fear from me now.” He sighed. “Jenova is me, I am Jenova. Perhaps I can never truly belong on this Planet, but I will not harm it.”

“All right! Just know that I’ll stop you if you go mad with power!” She said it in a joking manner, but Sephiroth’s expression grew more relaxed at her words either way.

“As you should.” He nodded, before starting to walk away from her. “Well then, until our paths cross again, Aerith…”

“No, wait!” she exclaimed, suddenly remembering what she’d been meaning to ask him before everything spiralled out of control. “Genesis said… you knew my father.” He stopped in his tracks.

“Yes. Professor Gast Faremis.” His back was already turned to her, but she could see that he’d tensed up. “He was in charge of the Jenova Project when I was very young, but he left Shinra… and left me with Hojo.” There was bitterness there, but just a bit of affection too. “He’s the closest thing I had to a father. I thought he cared about me, and maybe he did, on some level. But he still left me.”

“Did you know Hojo killed him?” Aerith asked softly. She felt bad. Gast had left for Ifalna’s sake, for her sake, and she could sense Sephiroth’s lingering resentment. She could tell how unlovable and unwanted it had made him feel. It had clearly left deep scars.

“My future self knew, so now I do as well, but before? No, I didn’t, though I had my suspicions.” He still wasn’t looking at her. Maybe it was too hard for him to do so.

“You know…” She wasn’t sure if she should make the suggestion. Did he envy her for being Gast’s child? “If he was like a father to you, that makes us practically siblings!” Sephiroth turned to look at her now, a stunned expression on his face. “I’ve always wanted a big brother!” she added.

“You…” Sephiroth was starting to smile again now. “You can’t just decide that we’re family like that. We’re not actually related…”

“How can you say that to your own little sister!” Aerith gasped overdramatically. “Also, I’m not related to my mom either. You don’t have to be biologically related to be a family.”

“You don’t…” A thoughtful expression drifted onto Sephiroth’s face. “I… I’ve always wanted a sibling too”, he admitted, almost hesitantly. “You’d really… want that? With me?” Aerith nodded, and he tilted his head down so he could hide his face behind his bangs, but she could still tell he was smiling. “I suppose I will just have to accept it, then.”

“Excellent! Now do as your little sister says and go tell my boyfriend to come see me already! He’s been working way too hard!” she declared.

“You’re very demanding.” Sephiroth let out an amused huff.

“That’s what you’ll have to put up with now!” Aerith retorted. He let out a small laugh. She didn’t think she’d seen him laugh before.

“How unfortunate. But as you wish, I will tell Zack to visit. I shall be seeing you later.” He bowed curtly and then unfurled his wing, taking off into the air and leaving a trail of black feathers behind. Aerith couldn’t help letting out a laugh. What a show-off. She looked forward to getting to know him better.


	36. Zack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finished FFVII Remake!! Absolutely incredible game, can't wait for the next part. I'm a bit iffy on some of the new plot points, but also intrigued to see what they're going to lead to. And the sefikura is so, so good. Definitely couldn't recommend it more!

These last few days had been the longest in Zack’s life, and there was no end to it anywhere in sight. Sure, everything had gone smoothly with taking out the President and Hojo – thanks. Sephiroth – but undoing all the harm Shinra had caused wasn’t going to be resolved in a few days, especially with how turbulent everything was now without a clear power structure.

He got out from a meeting that had lasted several hours and found Cloud sitting in the lounge area. It was kind of unfair that he had Zack, Sephiroth and Lazard doing the all work for him based on the information he chose to share with them, but it wasn’t like Zack could blame him. Even now, when he approached Cloud to sit down next to him, Cloud managed to smile but looked deeply exhausted.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself”, Zack said. “In case you’re waiting for Sephiroth, he wasn’t at this meeting. Not sure where he went.”

“He left?” Cloud’s face fell.

“I’m sure he’ll be back soon!” Zack insisted, even though he legitimately had no idea about what was going on in Sephiroth’s head these days. They hadn’t had an actual conversation since Sephiroth returned, to the point Zack was starting to wonder if Sephiroth was avoiding him for whatever reason. “Hey, how have you two been holding up?”

“I don’t know…” Cloud sighed. “I’m just so relieved that we managed to work things out, but Sephiroth is acting kinda weird… I mean, I know it must be fucking with him to remember a bunch of shit he’s never done, but… I wish he’d just understand that it’s not his fault.”

“Yeah… He’s been through enough already”, Zack said, wondering if he should ask about the one thing that had been bothering him the most since he found out about Cloud’s time travelling. “Look, Cloud… About the future you came from…” He trailed off, wondering how to put this in a way that didn’t upset Cloud.

“What about it?”

“Well. You said Aerith and I are gonna be together, right?” Zack sighed. Better to just say it. “The thing is… Aerith knows she was supposed to be killed by Sephiroth, so I must’ve died too, and I kinda… wanna know what happened.” Cloud’s shocked stare and rapidly paling face made him regret ever saying anything. “Look, if you can’t talk about it…”

“It’s fine”, Cloud said and took a deep breath, clearly trying to steady himself. “You’re here now, so… it doesn’t matter.” He stared down at the floor while wringing his hands. “You were gunned down by Shinra troops while trying to protect me. I was Mako-sick at the time and couldn’t do anything to help…” His breath hitched and he covered his face with his hands. “I had to watch you bleed out and it fucked me up so bad… You asked me to be your living legacy, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t be you.”

That was so much worse than anything Zack could’ve expected. Cloud was shaking in his seat, struggling to maintain his composure. A hug would probably be too much right now, so he settled for draping an arm over Cloud’s shoulders and pulling him closer, hoping it’d offer some comfort at least.

“At least I died for a good cause, then”, he murmured. “I’m sorry you had to see it, but knowing it was to save a friend…” He couldn’t help smiling. “I guess I have it in me to be a real hero after all.”

“You… you’ve always been my hero, Zack.” Cloud’s voice was soft as he turned to look at Zack, tears flooding his eyes. “When the time loops started happening, it was the worst, seeing you every day, over and over, knowing that…” He choked back a sob, and Zack couldn’t just watch anymore. He pulled Cloud into a tight hug and held him like that while Cloud clung back just as hard.

Zack wasn’t sure how to process this. He’d been to Cloud what Angeal had been to him. It was so hard to grasp the knowledge that he clearly meant more to Cloud than he could have possibly ever imagined. But the only thing he could do now was to be supportive, right?

“You’re a hero too, you know that, right Cloud?” he murmured in Cloud’s ear. “You’ve been through so much, but you stayed strong and managed to make things better.”

They sat like that for a while. At one point, Zack tried to let go, but Cloud continued clinging to him stubbornly, and Zack allowed it. If Cloud needed this, he was going to provide it. It wasn’t until Zack heard the thudding of a pair of familiar boots that he looked up and found Sephiroth approaching them, eyes shining with an indescribable emotion as he watched Zack unblinkingly, face twisted into a frown.

“Hey”, Zack tried. “Everything okay?” There was something about the look on Sephiroth’s face that kind of made him a bit nervous, especially considering how odd Sephiroth had been acting lately. “Do you need a hug too, buddy?”

“Maybe I should leave you two alone”, Sephiroth muttered, not entirely without venom. Cloud untangled himself from Zack at that and let out an exasperated sigh.

“Oh no, don’t you start with that now! You don’t get to shut people out and then get mad when they seek comfort in each other!” Cloud stood up and marched over to Sephiroth, who looked rather dumbfounded by his outburst. “Where have you been?! You were off brooding somewhere, weren’t you?”

“I went to see Aerith, actually”, Sephiroth retorted. “Apologies if I came across as angry, It’s just… my head is full of memories that aren’t my own. I’m feeling overwhelmed. I saw you two together and… I don’t know.” He sighed and shook his head, looking way too miserable for Zack to feel anything but pity for him. The same seemed to ring true for Cloud, whose gaze instantly softened.

“Aww, it’s okay. Come here. You need a hug.” Cloud reached his arms out and wiggled his fingers, Sephiroth managed a smile and stepped closer, allowing Cloud to tug him into an embrace. “There we go… You can relax now.”

“You two should just go home and take a nap together”, Zack said. They both looked absolutely exhausted, melting into each other’s touch as if nothing else mattered.

“Feels like that’s all we’ve been doing lately”, Cloud murmured. “We’re both just too damn tired.”

“You deserve a break, Cloud”, Sephiroth stated.

“So do you, but you just keep working”, Cloud replied. “How about you take a break too?” Sephiroth didn’t say anything in response to that; he just burrowed his face down into Cloud’s hair and let out a sigh. “C’mon. Let’s go home now, okay?”

Zack decided that that was the cue to leave them alone and sauntered off down the corridor, not really sure what he was supposed to do now. Grab a sandwich from the cafeteria, maybe. He’d have to get back to another meeting soon, there wasn’t time for much else…

“Zack!” Sephiroth caught up to him, catching him by the arm to stop him in his tracks, causing Zack to jolt in surprise. Zack glanced around and didn’t see Cloud anywhere. “I wanted to tell you something”, Sephiroth said, looking slightly uncomfortable.

“Oh? Do tell.” Zack smiled at him. He didn’t like how tense Sephiroth was. They were friends, weren’t they? He wanted Sephiroth to be comfortable with him.

“Aerith really wants you to come down to the church”, Sephiroth murmured. “I’m inclined to agree. You’ve been working too hard.”

“And you haven’t?” Zack retorted. “It’s like Cloud said. You’re clearly going through a lot right now. You should be taking a step back and letting someone else handle things.”

“I can’t.” Sephiroth lowered his head, staring down at the floor. “I need to be certain that nothing goes wrong. Once I know that the future Cloud has worked so hard to create is secured, I can rest. But until then, I need to watch everyone at Shinra closely, to make sure that nobody takes things into an undesirable direction.”

“Hey.” Zack took a step closer, hoping that he wasn’t stepping over some sort of boundary. “Hey, come here. I wanna give you a hug.”

“You do?” Sephiroth gave him such a hesitant, wary expression that it nearly broke Zack’s heart. “You’re not… angry at me, for what I’ve done?”

“I’m not gonna blame you for something you didn’t do, okay? You know Cloud doesn’t either, right?” Zack said, watching Sephiroth’s expression fall even further. He sighed and finally decided to tug Sephiroth into a hug, since Sephiroth was clearly not willing to take the first step. Sephiroth flinched at first, but slowly relaxed into the embrace, even daring to hug back.

“You never used to hug me… before.” His voice was so quiet that Zack had to pay close attention to hear him. “You, Cloud, Aerith… You’re all so nice to me. I don’t know how to feel about it.”

“Why wouldn’t I be nice to you? You’re my friend! The fact that you have some nasty memories of a future I don’t even know anything about isn’t gonna change that!”

“I suppose I can understand that.” Sephiroth’s fingers dug hard into his back. “It’s just… I don’t understand why Cloud isn’t angry at me. I feel like he should hate me.” He sounded like he was forcing the words out, as if he was reluctant to voice these thoughts at all. It was hard for Zack not to feel sorry for him.

“You just need to trust Cloud with this, okay?” Zack squeezed Sephiroth one last time before letting go and stepping back. “He knows what he’s doing.”

“Thank you, Zack…” Sephiroth turned his head away, hiding his expression behind his bangs. “You’re… a wonderful friend. I’m sorry for… being like this.”

“Hey, don’t blame yourself!” Zack exclaimed. “I’m sure anyone would feel overwhelmed by what you’re going through!”

“I suppose…” Sephiroth managed a small, slightly hesitant smile. “I should probably go home now, before Cloud starts wondering where I went. And no more meetings for you. It’s hypocritical for you to tell me and Cloud to rest when you won’t do it either. You’re dismissed. Go see your girlfriend. That’s an order.”

“All right, all right! If you insist!” Zack supposed Sephiroth was right. He _had_ been awfully focused on all things Shinra lately. It would be refreshing to go see Aerith.

Heading out into downtown Midgar made him realise exactly how tiring it had been to spend practically all of his time in the Shinra building. Being around normal, everyday people for once instead of the usual crowd felt absolutely wonderful. He texted Aerith to tell her that he was on his way when he got off the train to the Slums, and by the time he reached the church, he already found her waiting outside.

“You sure took your sweet time”, she said and marched up to him with crossed arms and a pout on her face. “And then you show up without giving me any time to prepare at all!”

“Prepare for what?” Zack asked and scooped her into his arms for a hug. “A surprise party for me? Oh babe, you shouldn’t have!” He was joking, of course, but the mischievous yet slightly nervous expression on Aerith’s face told him that maybe he had accidentally hit the nail on the head.

“Well, it’s not quite a party, but… it’s a surprise, for sure!”

“Cloud told me how I died”, Zack blurted out before he could help himself. She raised an eyebrow at him. Ah, total mood-killer, Zack, good job. “I died protecting him, and I kinda feel bad about it, not for protecting him of course, not many better ways to go than protecting a friend, but he seems to have been really traumatised by it, and…”

“Zack”, Aerith firmly interrupted his rambling. “Don’t feel bad about it. We’re both here now, right?” She offered him a smile and pressed a brief kiss to his lips. “We can be there for Cloud and help him recover now that everything turned out okay! And for Sephiroth too, of course.”

“He said he came down here to talk to you. Was it okay?”

“Yeah, of course!” She smiled, but there was something sad in her eyes regardless. “He knew my biological father, you know. Considered him a father figure, even, when he was a kid. That kinda makes us like siblings, don’t you think?”

“Oh wow, that’s new. Hey, does that mean he’s gonna be my brother-in-law one day?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself”, Aerith retorted with a grin and grabbed him by the arm to lead him towards the church. “You still haven’t even come to dinner with me and my mom! Stop working so hard!”

“But I need to work hard to be able to provide for you in the future, right?” Zack countered. Aerith let out a laugh at that.

“Oh no, you’re going to end up being a househusband, I can feel it in my bones”, she declared firmly. “The Planet told me.”

“What, really?”

“Of course not, silly.” Aerith stopped in front of the church doors, suddenly looking oddly jittery as she knocked on the door. “Um. So, I… don’t know how to say this, but… you’re not going to believe what you’re about to see.”

“Is that so?” Zack had to admit that his curiosity was piqued. “You really do have a surprise in store for me?”

The doors opened just slightly, and Genesis peeked his head out. Zack noted that he looked a lot healthier now. His hair was back to its original, vibrant colour and there was genuine energy in his eyes now, in a way Zack had never seen before.

“Ooh! Look who finally decided to show up! Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds…”

“Hey! You’re all better!” Zack glanced over at Aerith. “You managed to heal him? That’s amazing!” To think she had done what Shinra scientists had tried and failed to do… She really was a miracle worker. She let out a nervous laugh in response.

“Oh, c’mon, I don’t even really know what I did… The Planet guided me!”

“Still impressive nonetheless! Don’t be so humble!” Genesis declared. His lips curled into a mischievous grin. “Do step inside, Zack. There’s someone here who’s been waiting to see you.”

“Okay…?” Zack tried to put two and two together and figure out who it could be, but Aerith and Genesis were already grabbing his arms and hauling him inside. He caught a glimpse of the triplets scrambling to try to hide a tall figure standing behind them, but before he could get a proper look at anything, Genesis moved to cover his eyes. “Guys, seriously, what is this?”

“A surprise, of course!” Genesis said. Zack had never heard him so cheerful before. “Okay, come over here now!” Zack could hear the sound of footsteps approaching.

“Should we let him look now?” Aerith asked. “Well, Zack, you see, when I healed Genesis, something unexpected ended up happening, and…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Genesis removed his hands from Zack’s face, and… oh. Oh. No way, he had to be hallucinating. What the hell?

“Hello, Zack”, Angeal said, smiling warmly at him. He looked so real. Even his voice sounded exactly right.

“I…” Zack bit his lip, trying to find his voice. Oh gods. “I think I need to sit down.” Making his way over to one of the church pews was a bit too much right now, so he simply plopped down on the floor instead, unable to take his eyes off Angeal. “How?”

“You can thank your wonderful girlfriend”, Genesis said.

“Yes… and Sephiroth as well”, Angeal replied, still smiling as he approached and crouched down next to Zack, though it was quickly shifting into a melancholic expression. “I’m so sorry, Zack. For everything. I should never have done what I did to you.”

Maybe he should have been angry. But how could he bring himself to, when Angeal was right there, alive and well? Zack took a deep, shaky breath.

“Angeal”, he managed to choke out, feeling his throat clog up.

“Look at you, all grown up…” Angeal murmured. “I’m so proud of you.”

“I can’t believe it”, Zack whispered breathlessly. “Man, I just… I have to be dreaming or something.”

“Am I going to have to pinch you?” Angeal teased and pulled Zack to his feet.

Zack couldn’t hold back anymore. He threw himself into Angeal’s arms and clung to him, unable to keep the tears from falling. Angeal held him tight, not seeming to mind at all. Everything they had fought so hard for had been achieved and that was already incredible in itself, but this? This was on another level entirely.

He’d have to thank all of them later. Aerith and Sephiroth for whatever they had done to achieve this – the details could wait – and Cloud too, for putting it all into motion.


	37. Sephiroth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a longer chapter today! Some nsfw content later on in this chapter, but mostly it's just the same warm and fuzzy feelings as always ;D

It was proving very difficult for Sephiroth to adjust to a normal existence, after everything. Neither version of him had been truly prepared for a life as neither a SOLDIER only existing to follow orders nor a world-destroying calamity. Everything felt confusing and overwhelming. He kept trying to direct everyone else to prevent anything from going wrong, despite having full confidence that Zack, Lazard, and even Genesis and Angeal, who had come out of hiding under the guise of having been undercover on a secret mission, could handle things. It really made him realise how tired he was of this routine.

He wanted to get away from it. He wanted to do things he’d never done before, now that he was finally free from everything that had held him back for so long. Midgar felt cramped and claustrophobic, and he could tell how bad being in environments he associated only with Shinra was for him. He was trying his best to feel comfortable in his own skin again, but it was difficult, all things considered, and the lingering memories of his future self didn’t help.

And then there was Cloud, who was perhaps the biggest complication of all. He’d been so painfully gentle with Sephiroth throughout all of this. When Sephiroth flinched under all his touches, Cloud stopped trying to touch him. He’d noticed immediately that Sephiroth seemed uncomfortable sleeping in the same bed, so he’d taken the couch without hesitation.

“It’s okay”, he’d said when Sephiroth had tried to apologise. “You need space right now. It makes sense. Just don’t shut me out completely, okay?”

“You really don’t mind?”

“Of course not. You need time to process everything, and if this is what you need to feel better right now, it’s completely fine with me.”

“And what if… I never feel better?”

“Well, then I guess I’ll just have to live on this couch forever!” Cloud had replied cheerfully. It still made Sephiroth feel bad, though, because he could tell that Cloud was aching for intimacy that Sephiroth was unable to give him right now.

He felt bad about this too, glancing over at Vincent, who was entirely focused on piloting the helicopter. Maybe he should have asked Cloud to come along, but he had a distinct feeling that he needed to do this on his own.

“Are you nervous?” Vincent asked.

“I don’t know if I would say that”, Sephiroth said. He had a lot of mixed feelings, really. After the first time he saw Lucrecia, he’d been distraught, but with everything that had happened after that, he felt like he was somewhat detached from said event. It no longer seemed quite as significant. He’d promised himself to only go back to see her when he’d proved to himself that he wasn’t a monster, but the opposite had happened. He knew now that he was a monster and there was no going back from that. Was it going to change anything? Maybe he should have protested when Vincent asked him to come with him.

“She’ll speak to you this time, you’ll see”, Vincent said.

“And then, what happens afterwards?” Sephiroth glanced over his shoulder to the seats behind him, where his Remnants were all seated, watching him warily. “What about you three?”

“Vincent said we could stay with him, if we wanted to”, Yazoo said, earning a glare from Kadaj, presumably for daring to speak to Sephiroth. Out of the three, he seemed to be the one with the most benevolent attitude towards Sephiroth.

“Someone needs to keep an eye on them”, Vincent murmured. “Might as well be me.”

“You said we were going to see someone important”, Loz exclaimed. “Who is it?”

“Sephiroth’s mother”, Vincent said. Sephiroth noticed how his Remnants all shared glances amongst each other, as if the concept confused them.

“Jenova?” Kadaj asked, narrowing his eyes at Sephiroth. “But… the Calamity has been eliminated, right? Mother’s, um, that is, Aerith’s healing rain cleansed the Lifestream, right?” Sephiroth opted not to share with him that he technically wasn’t quite correct in that assumption, and that what was left of Jenova still lingered within this very helicopter.

“Jenova is no longer a threat, that is true”, he said instead, because that, at least, wasn’t a lie. “But Vincent is referring to my human mother.” They still looked equally confused. “Jenova didn’t give birth to me, you know”, he added, which didn’t seem to help at all.

“I don’t think anybody ever gave them the talk”, Vincent said, sounding a bit too amused. Sephiroth distinctly felt like he was missing the point.

“The talk about what?” he asked. Vincent had the nerve to snort at that.

“Never mind.”

When they stepped out of the helicopter next to the waterfall cave, Sephiroth was once again taken aback by the fact that he didn’t know how to feel about this; how to feel about Lucrecia. He still ached for her approval desperately, but there was a part of him that had grown resentful. She’d left him in Hojo’s clutches to suffer for his entire life. He had every right to hate her… but was that truly him, or was the bitterness just a leftover from his future self? He didn’t know how to tell. Maybe seeing her would clear things up.

“Let’s go”, Vincent said, clearly sensing Sephiroth’s hesitation as he took the lead. The five of them made their way through the cave in utter silence as Sephiroth continued to ponder what was about to happen. He could never be the son she wanted like this… could he?

Or maybe he needed to stop clinging so hard to the fact that he had those memories, and focus on the choices he had made instead. He’d chosen to be here, and he was the only Sephiroth she was going to get.

“I was thinking”, Vincent said suddenly. “She has to know for certain who your father is. We could ask her. At least then you’d know.”

“No”, Sephiroth said. “Don’t ask her. It doesn’t matter to me who my biological father is.” He glanced towards Vincent, trying to ignore how hesitant he felt. “You’re the only father I want. Whether it is by blood or not doesn’t matter. It’s either you, or no father at all.”

“I see.” Vincent’s gaze softened. “I suppose… there’s no way around it, then.” He let out a huff close to a laugh. “I’m now legally obligated to make awful jokes and tell Cloud embarrassing stories about you.” Sephiroth couldn’t help smiling. That sounded… so wonderfully normal.

“I think Cloud will be the one telling you the embarrassing stories… father.” The word felt a bit strange on his tongue, but he found he had no regrets about it.

By the time they reached the room with her crystal inside, he’d made up his mind. He wasn’t going to allow her to reject him this time. He would face her, no matter what. But still, seeing her form frozen in that crystal, he found himself hesitating, for just a moment. But he shared a look with Vincent, who simply nodded.

“Mother”, Sephiroth declared as confidently as he could, his voice echoing through the cavern. “I’m here to see you.” He got no reply.

“Is she…” Kadaj started from somewhere behind Sephiroth, but quickly got shushed by the others.

“Lucrecia”, Vincent said. Still nothing.

Sephiroth wasn’t sure what drew him to do it, but it was as if he just instinctively knew what he had to do. He approached the crystal and placed his hand on it, taking a deep breath as he tried to call out to the Jenova cells he knew she had within her.

“Mother”, he repeated firmly. “I wish to speak to you.” The crystal began to crackle under his touch, and he pulled his hand back in surprise, staring at the crystal as it started falling apart, shattering into tiny pieces. It all crumbled down and left Lucrecia standing in the middle of it, blinking her eyes open in bleary confusion. Sephiroth watched as she carefully stepped down from the pile of crystal shards. She was a lot smaller than he’d expected. In his imagination, she was something larger than life… but really, she was just a normal human woman.

“Are you… Sephiroth?” Her voice was hoarse from disuse as she stared up at him, awestruck yet so horrifyingly sad. He nodded, watching her gaze soften. Her eyes were so brown. “Oh, my darling, look at you… You grew up to be so tall and handsome…”

All his bravado melted away the moment she spoke to him. He’d been trying so hard to keep a straight face, to not allow her to see past his barriers, but something inside him was crying out in pain, because she was finally here, real, alive, reaching her hand out to touch his cheek…

“I’m so sorry”, she whispered, wiping tears from his cheek he hadn’t even noticed were falling until now. She was in tears too. “My poor baby, I’m so sorry for what I did to you.”

It was enough to make him crack. He closed the distance and pulled her into his arms, only barely having time to press his face down into her hair before his entire body was shaking with sobs.

“Mother”, he choked out. This was it, the embrace he’d longed for his entire life, and it was even more cathartic than he could have expected. He found he couldn’t bring himself to care about the details.

“My baby”, she whispered, her arms coming up to wrap around his torso in a tight grip. “My poor precious baby. I should never have left you. I’m so sorry, I don’t know if I can ever make it up to you…”

“You don’t have to”, he found himself murmuring, trying to hold back his sobs. “You’re here now, that’s enough for me…” He could talk to her and hug her, she could be involved in his life, they could have an actual relationship, he could finally have something resembling normalcy…! Nothing else mattered. He clung to her, trying to breathe, feeling his heart swell with an unfamiliar warmth. He wasn’t sure if seconds or minutes passed.

“Lucrecia.” Vincent’s interruption was unwanted, but Sephiroth supposed they couldn’t just stand there and hold each other forever.

“Vincent!” Lucrecia jolted away from Sephiroth in surprise, clearly not having noticed him until he spoke up. Her lips curled into a shaky smile. “Have you been looking after Sephiroth for me?”

“Not nearly as well as I wish I could have…” Vincent sighed, gazing at her with a tender warmth in his eyes. Sephiroth swallowed. It didn’t feel real that they were standing here in front of him. His parents. His _family_. “He was here with me the last time we spoke. Do you remember?”

“The last time…?” Lucrecia’s eyebrows furrowed. “You were here before? I’m sorry, I’ve had many dreams about you both, while I was in the crystal. I can’t say for certain…”

“No need to concern yourself, mother”, Sephiroth said. She already looked so sad. He didn’t want to burden her with the knowledge that she’d called him a monster, not now, when she had accepted him without hesitation. “I’m just… glad you’re here with us now.”

“Hello!” Loz suddenly came bounding into view, dragging Yazoo and Kadaj along a bit too enthusiastically. “If you’re Sephiroth’s mother, can you be our mother too? We already have a few, but one more would be nice!”

“I don’t think that’s how it works”, Yazoo murmured.

“At least wait and see if we like her first”, Kadaj groaned. Sephiroth couldn’t help noticing the curious glint in his eyes when he watched Lucrecia, however.

“Who…?” Lucrecia stared at them for a moment, then glanced back at Sephiroth, clearly expecting an explanation.

“Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj.” Sephiroth pointed at each of them individually. “They’re…” He wasn’t sure how to explain it. “…a long story. Perhaps we could discuss it in the helicopter back to Midgar?”

And so, he talked. He talked for hours, for the entire helicopter ride. He told Lucrecia everything about how he had grown up, how Gast had left, what Hojo had done to him and what Shinra had made him do… When he got to talking about the Wutai War, she burst into tears. She held him. He cried too. Again. Everything that came after, he told as coherently as he could while trying to keep the tears from falling.

By the time he got back home, after leaving Lucrecia and the Remnants in Vincent’s hands, it was late evening, and he was so weary that he could barely stand. He stumbled into his apartment without even bothering to take his boots or his coat off, and made it halfway through the living room on his way to the bedroom before he found himself frozen in place. Cloud was fast asleep on the couch, curled up under a blanket. Something in Sephiroth’s chest lurched painfully.

If he could forgive Lucrecia… maybe Cloud could forgive him too. Cloud had said there was nothing to forgive, but…

“Cloud”, Sephiroth whispered and sank to his knees next to the couch.

“Huh…?” Cloud cracked an eye open. “Oh, hey. Did you get to talk to your mom…?” The sleep faded from his eyes, quickly shifting into concern. “You okay?”

“I… don’t know”, Sephiroth admitted. “I feel like I’ve been crying all day. I did get to speak to my mother. She even came back with us. I could… introduce you two, later?” He hadn’t been able to explain properly to her what Cloud meant to him, but he really felt like he should.

“Sure.” Cloud nodded, lips curling into a small smile. “You look really tired. Are you heading to bed?”

“Yes, but…” Sephiroth hesitated. He wanted to ask so badly. He longed to be near Cloud. Why had he been pushing him away when all he wanted was to be with him? “Cloud… I want you to come to bed with me.”

“You… you do?” Cloud’s eyes lit up. “Are you sure?” Sephiroth nodded, and Cloud let out a breathless laugh as he stood up and immediately began to pull Sephiroth along towards the bedroom. “C’mon, then. Let’s go!”

Sephiroth was tired enough to allow himself to be dragged along, and even let Cloud help him with getting his clothes off, even though the way Cloud carelessly tossed them on the floor would normally have bothered him. By the time Sephiroth was seated on the bed, wearing only his leather pants as Cloud finished removing his boots and socks for him, he was starting to notice that Cloud was being oddly… withdrawn. As if he was holding something back.

“What’s wrong?” he asked and watched as Cloud flinched.

“I hate to ask, because it’s probably too much for you right now, but…” Cloud licked his lips, looking almost self-conscious. “…I want to have sex.”

He couldn’t say no to that expression. Cloud looked so vulnerable right now, biting his lip and ducking his head, pointedly looking away. Sephiroth would have given him the world if he asked for it… but he supposed this would suffice.

“All right.”

“We don’t have to”, Cloud quickly retorted. “I don’t want to force you into anything you’re not comfortable with…”

“Just… take it slow”, Sephiroth whispered. “Be patient with me. I’ll tell you if it’s too much.”

“Of course”, Cloud murmured back, slightly hesitant. “We’ll go as slowly as you need to. Is it okay if I kiss you?”

“Please, Cloud…” Sephiroth barely had time to get the words out before he already had his lap full of Cloud, pressing their lips together desperately. He allowed it, soaking in the attention he felt like he didn’t deserve. Cloud wouldn’t be doing this if he didn’t think Sephiroth was worth it.

Cloud pressed up against him, deepening the kiss as he ran his hands over Sephiroth’s body. He had one knee on each side of Sephiroth’s thigh, and Sephiroth could feel the erection straining against Cloud’s sweatpants.

“So eager already”, he teased. “Is there anything in particular you desire, Cloud? Let me give it to you.” He trailed a finger down Cloud’s back and felt Cloud shiver in anticipation.

“Always so dramatic…” Cloud grinned. “Wanna ride you… Is that okay?” Sephiroth nodded and offered Cloud an encouraging smile. Cloud’s reaction to that was to hurriedly crawl off Sephiroth to grab the lube and condoms from the nightstand while simultaneously trying to get out of his clothes.

They ended up with Sephiroth seated against the headboard while Cloud rode him. Sephiroth wasn’t sure how to feel about letting Cloud do all the work like this, but the sight he was rewarded with was enough to make him reconsider any complaints. Cloud’s sweat-soaked face contorting in pleasure as he lowered himself onto Sephiroth’s cock…

“Does it feel good?” Sephiroth asked and rocked his hips upwards to meet Cloud halfway, drawing a delicious moan from Cloud’s lips. He was the one making Cloud feel this good. The knowledge made his head spin.

“Needed this…” Cloud gasped. “Needed you…” He bit down on his lip, clearly trying to hold back more noises.

“Cloud… It’s all right…” Sephiroth said, grabbing Cloud’s hips. “You don’t need to hold back with me, I’ve got you…” Cloud made a small, whimpering sound and pressed his head down against Sephiroth’s shoulder.

“Don’t wanna lose you”, Cloud groaned. “Don’t leave me, don’t leave me ever again…” Sephiroth pushed down the guilt and pulled Cloud back by the hair to capture his lips in a heated kiss instead.

“I’m not leaving”, he choked out. “I’m right here, Cloud, I’m never going to let you go again…!” A dark, possessive feeling made itself known in his chest and he bit down on the skin between Cloud’s neck and shoulder as he rocked his hips up into Cloud. The drawn-out moan he got in response only encouraged him further, and he ended up flipping Cloud down onto his back so that he could crawl on top of him.

“Aren’t you… forward, all of a sudden?” Cloud gasped.

“Is that a complaint?” Sephiroth retorted, grabbing Cloud’s wrists and pinning him down to the bed.

“No, no, no! Keep it up, that’s so good, _oh…!_ ” Cloud moaned as Sephiroth rocked into him again. “Please, Sephiroth, don’t stop…”

Sephiroth didn’t stop. He fucked Cloud with hard, focused thrusts, watching Cloud unravel beneath him. Sephiroth wondered if he’d ever seen Cloud completely let down his walls like this before. He was so willing to make noise, and the expression on his face was one of unabashed pleasure… For a moment, Sephiroth worried that he was being too rough, but when he tried to slow down, Cloud begged him to go faster so desperately that he quickly picked up the pace again.

He took the opportunity to leave more kisses and bites on Cloud’s neck and shoulder, trailing his hands all over Cloud’s body as he found a comfortable rhythm. Cloud seemed to have lost the ability to speak coherently a while ago, but the way his nails dug into Sephiroth’s back felt like an encouragement.

Sephiroth lost track of time, but when Cloud finally came with Sephiroth’s name on his lips, his voice was hoarse, and he was entirely soaked in sweat. Sephiroth pulled out of him and rolled onto his back, taking a moment to catch his breath as well. He wasn’t nearly as drained as Cloud was – SOLDIER benefits – but it had still been a bit of a workout.

“You didn’t come yet”, Cloud murmured, his voice a bit slurred. “Want me to…?”

“No need”, Sephiroth said. He was content enough with the knowledge that he’d satisfied Cloud. “Are you going to take a shower?”

“Too tired. I wanna sleep. You’re gonna have to put up with me being gross and sweaty”, Cloud declared and planted his head face-down on Sephiroth’s chest.

“That’s all right”, Sephiroth said and raised his hand to comb Cloud’s hair. “I’ve put up with worse.” He didn’t mind, truly. It felt… good, to just be here with Cloud, as if someone had lifted a weight off his chest. He was glad he’d allowed himself to let Cloud close again.

“You know… for someone who doesn’t care about sex at all you do a pretty damn good job”, Cloud declared, shifting around to face Sephiroth with a grimace. “Ow.”

“Are you in pain?” Sephiroth asked. The heavy feeling pressing down on his chest returned with a vengeance. Had it been too much for Cloud’s unenhanced body?

“You were so rough with me…” Cloud fingered the bruises Sephiroth had left on him and winced. “Did you bite me?”

“I’m sorry”, Sephiroth said immediately. How mortifying… He was about to get out of bed to find a Cure Materia, but Cloud pushed him back down, remaining firmly settled on using Sephiroth’s chest as a pillow.

“Don’t be. I liked it.” He grinned at Sephiroth. “I just… wasn’t expecting you to have it in you, you know?”

“I’m naturally predisposed to violence, why should it surprise you?”

“Huh?” Cloud gave him a confused look. “Yeah, I know you’re a SOLDIER, but you’ve always been really gentle with me, ever since we started dating. What changed?”

“You know what changed”, Sephiroth said, a bit harsher than he’d intended. “Just because you pretend that it didn’t change me as a person, that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” Cloud fell quiet at that. “Can you please not pretend that I’m the same as before, Cloud?” he found himself practically begging.

“Since a part of you… remembers being him…” Cloud seemed to have trouble with getting the words out. “…is there a part of you that hates me?”

It was a difficult question to answer. The feelings his future self held for Cloud were not so easy to define as either love or hate. He didn’t want to burden Cloud with the knowledge of what the other Sephiroth had been plotting to do, once Cloud’s spirit was completely broken.

“I could never hate you, Cloud”, he said. “And I… don’t think hatred accurately describes my future self’s feelings, either.”

“How would you describe them, then?”

How _would_ he describe them? They were something twisted and dark, burning deep in the very core of his soul, binding him to Cloud on such a fundamental level that he felt like he couldn’t live without him. Sephiroth had never thought that soulmates could possibly exist, but somehow, these feelings, ironically enough, convinced him of the opposite. Cloud was _his_. But he didn’t know how to put that into words in a way that made sense.

“…Complicated. I don’t want to think too hard about it. I don’t want to lose myself in his memories.”

“So… where does that put us?” Cloud asked hesitantly.

“It… hasn’t changed my feelings for you. In fact, I think it has only made them stronger.” Sephiroth bit his lip, wondering how to best explain himself. “But I… hesitate, knowing what he did to you. Can you truly still love me, even when a part of who I am… is the man you hate?”

“I already went through a lot of that existential crisis when I first started developing feelings for you, you know”, Cloud said. “Maybe I’ve been differentiating the two versions of you a bit too much, but… I don’t think it’s fair of you to say that you’re just like him now. You’re not. Just like I’m not the same Cloud I was before all of this. People can change, Sephiroth.”

It sounded… so simple, when he put it like that.

“Maybe… you have a point”, Sephiroth admitted, rather begrudgingly. “I suppose I was just worried I might have changed too much.”

“Well, stop worrying so much! Let’s just cuddle instead”, Cloud said and nuzzled Sephiroth’s neck as he curled up next to him and pulled the covers over them. “You’re exhausted, right? Get some sleep.”

“All right.” Sephiroth turned to face Cloud before pulling him into a tight embrace, ready to allow himself to sleep. “Good night, Cloud.”

It was hard to fall asleep, however, despite the fact that he was extremely tired. He found himself completely and utterly distracted by Cloud’s presence next to him. Even though he felt like he didn’t deserve this, he had it anyway. He was too grateful to take it for granted, and so, he allowed himself to soak in Cloud’s warmth while trying to get himself to relax.

“You know…” Cloud mumbled suddenly. “Cloud Crescent sounds really dumb, and so does Sephiroth Strife.”

“…What?” It came so completely out of nowhere that it left Sephiroth rather dumbfounded.

“I’m just thinking… When we get married, we should keep our own surnames. Our names are already ridiculous enough.” Cloud’s eyes were still closed, and he sounded like he was practically asleep already.

“When, not if? That’s awfully forward of you”, Sephiroth murmured, unable to resist smiling. They had a future together. It was more than he could ever have hoped for.

“You said you’re never leaving, I’m just taking your words to heart”, Cloud retorted, cracking an eye open. Gods, Sephiroth loved him so much that it hurt, all the way deep inside, and he found that he had to say it.

“…Soulmate.”

“…Huh?” Cloud looked a lot more awake now, and also a lot more perplexed.

“That’s… what _his_ feelings are”, Sephiroth said. “We’re bound together by fate, for better or for worse. Love or hate… doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you’re… the most important person in the world, Cloud.” He wondered how Cloud might feel about that, but when he looked at Cloud, he found he had nothing to fear at all.

“Sappy”, Cloud whispered. Yet, the soft smile on his face said it all.


	38. Cloud

It was still hard to believe that months had passed, now. Cloud still sometimes caught himself terrified in the moments between sleep and wakefulness, expecting that he’d find himself back in the Shinra barracks. But at least, in those moments, Sephiroth’s warm body next to him in bed gave him all the comfort he needed.

That particular morning, Cloud woke up at 5AM and found that Sephiroth had hogged all the blankets. He rolled out of bed, leaving Sephiroth curled up with his back turned to Cloud in his cocoon on the other side of the bed, feeling too restless to try to go back to sleep immediately. The Chocobos probably needed food anyway.

He stepped out onto the porch of the little cottage and inhaled the fresh morning air. It was still dark outside, but on the horizon, he could see the first hints of sunrise. He’d longed for a countryside life for such a long time; the thought of being stuck in Midgar after everything he’d been through there didn’t appeal, and neither did living in Nibelheim, despite the fact that his mom was still alive and well. This, though? A small cottage on the vast, empty plains between Cosmo Canyon and Mt Nibel, close enough to town to visit Claudia if he so desired but far away enough to escape shitty Nibel weather and annoying townsfolk… literal perfection.

Surprisingly, raising Chocobos had been Sephiroth’s suggestion. When Cloud had complained about not knowing what to do now that the world was saved, Sephiroth had admitted to the purchase of this tiny Chocobo farm. When Cloud had asked him why, he’d simply given an uncharacteristic shrug and stated that he thought it was something that would make Cloud happy… but Cloud had a feeling that Sephiroth had felt just as stifled by Midgar.

The Chocobos, at least, liked Sephiroth a surprising amount considering how most animals seemed automatically intimidated by him, but Cloud was still their favourite. All four of them were wide awake the moment Cloud stepped into the stable, warking eagerly as he petted their heads before feeding them greens.

As he was heading back inside, the sound of a distant motorcycle caught his attention. Before long, it came into view, its rider dressed in all black, wearing a helmet that covered their head. Before Cloud’s somewhat sleep-addled brain could begin to guess who could be out here at this hour in the morning, the motorcycle came to a halt in front of him, and its rider leapt off, taking off the helmet and revealing…

“Tifa!” Cloud declared. He hadn’t expected her, that was for sure. “Where’d you get that?”

“This?” Tifa patted the motorcycle. “Zack. He said that if he’s going to mentor me, he wants me to be able to get around properly.” She stifled a laugh. “Angeal apparently got mad at him for buying it for me, so I kinda felt bad about accepting it… but he refused to take no for an answer.”

“That’s Zack for you!” Cloud couldn’t resist laughing. It made him happy that Zack and Tifa were getting along so well, to the point that Zack would even be willing to mentor Tifa. Even though the SOLDIER program was being slowly dismantled, there was still a need for people who could fight, in order to protect the populace from monsters.

“I was just leaving Nibelheim. It was my first time going back after I left with Zack and the others”, she said. “My dad’s really mad at me. He doesn’t like the idea of his little girl growing up, I think.”

“I don’t think any parent does”, Cloud said. He didn’t really have it in him to feel sorry for Mr Lockhart though, mostly because the man had pestered him about Tifa and blamed him for her leaving each and every time he’d been back to Nibelheim to see his mom over the last few months.

“What are you doing awake at this hour, anyway?” Tifa asked.

“Couldn’t sleep. Fed the Chocobos.” Cloud shrugged. “I could ask you the same thing. Where are you headed this early?”

“I’m…” Tifa gazed towards the horizon. “…going to Cosmo Canyon, actually. And then to Corel, and then Rocket Town… Might go to see Yuffie in Wutai too, before I head back to Midgar.”

“You’re going to visit the people who would have been part of AVALANCHE? How come?”

“I want to meet them, at least once”, Tifa said firmly. “They would’ve been our friends in another life, right? I’d feel weird about it if I didn’t.”

Cloud supposed it made sense for her to feel that way. She had all the curiosity about the life she’d never lived and none of the memories weighing her down. Cloud wanted to meet them eventually too, but not yet. He needed to take his time. He wanted to heal. But one day… one day, he’d like to see them again.

“Make sure to say hi to them from me”, he said. Tifa beamed at him.

“I will! Zack said to tell you and Sephiroth to come back to Midgar soon to visit, okay? We should all have a proper meetup! Everyone wants to see you again!”

“Maybe they should come visit us, then!” Cloud retorted playfully. “Tell Genesis he can’t come until he takes me and Sephiroth to that dinner he promised.”

Tifa laughed and nodded before putting her helmet back on, and then she was off, racing towards the horizon. Cloud stared after her a good while after her silhouette had disappeared from view completely. It was the cold biting his hands that finally convinced him to go back inside, eager to crawl back into bed as long as he could steal some blankets back.

Sephiroth was still curled up in the exact spot where Cloud had left him. Cloud got back into bed and began to tug at the blankets as hard as he could. Sephiroth was being particularly stubborn about them, refusing to let go. When Cloud paid close attention, he could hear Sephiroth mumbling something under his breath.

“Sephiroth?” He leant over Sephiroth to try to get a look at his face, and found it twisted in agony. A nightmare again… He began to gently stroke Sephiroth’s hair. “Sephiroth, it’s just a dream. Wake up.”

“Cloud…” He could hear it now. Sephiroth was murmuring his name, over and over. “Cloud, Cloud, Cloud…”

“I’m here”, Cloud said softly. It hurt to watch Sephiroth’s beautiful face twisted in such a pained grimace. “It’s okay now, wake up…”

Sephiroth jerked awake so suddenly that Cloud was startled by him. He turned to stare at Cloud, eyes wild and fierce in a way Cloud hadn’t ever seen on _this_ Sephiroth’s face except in moments like these, the first few seconds after waking up from a nightmare… only this time, the expression refused to fade. Sephiroth continued to stare at Cloud, quietly, unwaveringly, until Cloud tried to reach out to touch him, upon which he flinched away.

“Don’t touch me”, he hissed as he withdrew, up against the edge of the bed, reminding Cloud a bit too much of a cornered wild animal.

“Don’t be like that now, come here”, Cloud said and held his arms out, hoping it’d get Sephiroth to snap out of it. But Sephiroth just kept watching him with that strange look on his face, so Cloud decided to take matters into his own hands and pulled him into a hug anyway.

Sephiroth went silent and still for a few seconds. Then, his hands came up to clutch Cloud’s shirt as he began to shake. For a moment, Cloud thought he was crying, struggling to hold back his sobs, but then it hit him. No… it was laughter. Wild, uncontrolled laughter that slowly became impossible for Sephiroth to hide.

“What… did you dream about?” Cloud asked, hoping that getting him to talk would solve this… whatever this was. The laughter stopped, at least.

“Your sword piercing my heart”, Sephiroth purred with such smug self-satisfaction that it sent Cloud into high alert instantly. He didn’t let go, though. He only tightened his grip on Sephiroth, because as long as he was holding Sephiroth this close, he wouldn’t have to see the expression on his face.

“You should go back to sleep”, he said, trying to keep his voice calm. “You’re clearly not… feeling like yourself right now.” He tried to remind himself he had nothing to fear. Sephiroth couldn’t rewind time anymore. Sure, he could snap Cloud’s neck at any given moment, but he hadn’t done anything yet. If he chose to do something, Cloud was powerless to stop him anyway, so there was no use to work himself into a panic.

“Oh? Are you going back to sleep as well?” Sephiroth’s voice sounded so mocking. It hurt.

“Yeah. I’ll…” Cloud tried to swallow down the lump in his throat. Act natural. Act like nothing is wrong. “I’ll be right here with you, okay? I’m not gonna let go, I promise.”

Slowly, making sure not to untangle himself from Sephiroth, Cloud managed to manoeuvre them both into a lying down position. Sephiroth was quiet, too quiet. Cloud slowly moved his hand up along Sephiroth’s back, feeling him grow more and more tense the higher he got.

“Why?” Sephiroth snapped.

“Why what?” Cloud tangled his fingers into Sephiroth’s hair, feeling Sephiroth flinch. “You know I’m not gonna hurt you, right?”

“Hurt me?” Sephiroth let out an incredulous laugh. “There’s nothing you can do to hurt me. Why are you acting like this? I could kill you, if I wanted.”

“You wouldn’t”, Cloud said. “I know you’d ever hurt me.” He continued stroking Sephiroth’s hair and heard a barely audible sigh escape Sephiroth.

“You’ve grown too soft, puppet.”

“You think?” It was hard to deny it now. Cloud stopped touching Sephiroth and pulled back to get a proper look at his face, a little bit afraid of what he would see. That terrifying glint in Sephiroth’s eyes hadn’t disappeared, but there was no condescending smirk, like he’d expected. Sephiroth just looked… tired. “Why are you here? What do you want?” Cloud blurted out.

“Believe it or not, this was… completely unintentional.” Sephiroth’s gaze remained unnervingly fixed on Cloud. “I was trying to let myself fade completely into my other self’s subconscious… but I found I couldn’t let go. Not yet.”

“…Why not?” It was getting a bit hard for Cloud to stay calm. This didn’t feel like this timeline’s Sephiroth being confused and overwhelmed by the guilt of unfamiliar memories. Sephiroth clearly knew exactly what he was talking about.

“I’m not entirely certain”, Sephiroth said. His hands remained in place, grasping Cloud’s shirt, and he stared at them, as if he’d only now become aware of what he was doing. “Do you know why I did this, Cloud?” He purred Cloud’s name in that same way that always sent shivers down Cloud’s spine.

“Because you wanted to see me suffer before you get rid of me for good, right?” Cloud replied, because why else?

“I wanted you to become so broken that you would willingly become my puppet once again”, Sephiroth whispered, his eyes glazing over and staring off into the distance. “I wanted to take you with me, away from this miserable Planet and into the vast darkness of the universe. You’re the only thing left that matters to me, Cloud.”

…Somehow, Sephiroth still managed to surprise Cloud, even though Cloud had thought that would be impossible at this point. How the hell was that information supposed to make him feel? Sephiroth was giving him such an expectant, eager look, clearly awaiting his horrified reaction.

“Are you that damn lonely?” Cloud questioned instead, enjoying the way Sephiroth’s face fell a bit more than he would’ve liked to admit. Though the enjoyment was quickly replaced with something almost like pity when Sephiroth quietly shifted closer and tucked his head under Cloud’s chin, hands twitching as if he wanted to do more but didn’t dare to. They were both silent for a while. Cloud wondered if he should say something, but then Sephiroth spoke up.

“…You’re warm.” His voice was so quiet that Cloud could barely make out what he was saying. “I can’t remember the last time someone touched me without the intent to harm me.”

…Fuck. Cloud had spent so much time trying to build up a difference between the two versions of Sephiroth he knew in his mind, and now it was all being torn down. It was hard to watch Sephiroth now and see a cold-blooded, murderous monster, when all he could see was that desperately lonely man yearning for companionship. Maybe Sephiroth could be both. Maybe he always had been.

“Go back to sleep”, he said, allowing his hand to drift back to pet Sephiroth’s hair again. “Relax.” Sephiroth had grown tense under his touch again, but Cloud didn’t relent. He had nothing to fear, he tried to tell himself. Sephiroth hadn’t tried anything yet.

“…Am I beyond forgiveness, Cloud?” Sephiroth asked.

Was he? Probably. But at the same time, he was the only reason they were here now.

“Does it even matter?” Cloud retorted. “You’ve undone everything you’ve ever done. None of it has happened, and none of it will. My memories are the only proof you ever existed.”

“Just a memory.” Sephiroth’s voice was seemingly calm, but Cloud could hear the anger boiling beneath the surface. “Isn’t that ironic? I promised I’d never be just a memory, and here I am.” He chuckled, but it was completely lacklustre. “I wish… things had been different.”

“They are different now, though. We made things different. I changed the world for the better, and you set it all into motion.”

“I wish someone could have saved me.” Sephiroth jerked away from Cloud, allowing Cloud to see the raw, desperate look in his eyes. “Why didn’t anyone save me, Cloud? Why does my other self get to be happy while I…?” His voice cracked and he squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth and tightening his grip on Cloud’s shirt. Okay, Cloud couldn’t deny it anymore. Curse his bleeding heart, but he pitied Sephiroth.

“I’m here now”, he whispered, placing a hand on Sephiroth’s cheek. “Maybe it’s too late for me to help, and too late for you to be forgiven, but I’m here. You don’t have to suffer alone anymore. There are so many people who care about you in this world, even if you could never see it before.”

“Why aren’t you afraid of me at all?” Sephiroth whispered incredulously. “Stop it, stop being so nice to me, I can’t take it…!” he hissed out, drawing in a shaky breath. “I hate you! I hate you so much for making me feel these things, I…”

Cloud realised in that moment that Sephiroth had no power over him anymore. There was nothing to be afraid of. Sephiroth was broken and tired and just wanted something that Cloud could give to him easily. Cloud brought his other hand up to cup Sephiroth’s other cheek. Sephiroth opened his eyes, looking so horribly, painfully sad that the words just slipped from Cloud’s mouth. It was something he was so used to saying when he wanted Sephiroth to feel better that he didn’t think about it at all until he’d already said it.

“Sephiroth, I love you.”

He wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he’d expected, but the look of deep, genuine despair and hopelessness that appeared on Sephiroth’s face wasn’t it at all.

“You don’t!” Sephiroth snapped. “You love the version of me that didn’t ruin everything! You love your Sephiroth!” The bitter look in his eyes… it made Cloud finally realise something.

“But you’re my Sephiroth too, aren’t you?” The way Sephiroth trembled as Cloud ran his thumbs over his cheekbones… it was the same. They were the same. “You’re just my Sephiroth, but what he would have been if I hadn’t been there to help. And you’re a part of him now, anyway. I’ve got your back. You’re safe with me.” Sephiroth’s breath hitched at that.

“I’m not alone anymore”, Sephiroth whispered, as if he could barely believe it himself. “Please, Cloud. You don’t have to forgive me. Just… let me be yours.”

“You already are”, Cloud murmured. “Do I have to say it again? I love you”, he said, and watched a shudder go through Sephiroth’s entire body. And then, just to drive the point home, he leant in and pulled Sephiroth in for a kiss. Sephiroth made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob, but after only a moment’s hesitation, he kissed back, so deeply and fervently that Cloud nearly forgot how to breathe.

“My Cloud”, Sephiroth whispered breathlessly against his lips. “My precious puppet… Mine, all mine…” Cloud would’ve told Sephiroth not to call him puppet, but there was something about the way Sephiroth said it, with such genuine affection and heat, that made it impossible for Cloud to complain.

“All yours”, Cloud replied, equally breathless, and found himself flipped onto his back as Sephiroth leant over him, touching Cloud’s face and hair with such reverence that it made Cloud feel a bit overwhelmed. Sephiroth kept it up for a while, never daring to move his hands below the neck.

“I will never let you go again”, he said. “You’re trapped with me, Cloud.” He said it as if it was a curse.

“You make that sound like it’s such an awful thing. You’re the one who’s gonna get tired of me first, you know.”

“No”, Sephiroth said, too softly. “I will not. I would tear the world apart for you, Cloud.” Cloud wasn’t sure what to say to that.

“Please don’t”, he exclaimed, earning a chuckle in return.

“And I will refrain from doing so, because you asked.” He lingered above Cloud, almost but not quite brushing their lips together. Cloud wasn’t entirely sure if Sephiroth was trying to taunt him or if he was hesitating. Maybe a bit of both. Regardless, Cloud had a feeling that Sephiroth did want to kiss him again.

“Come here”, he murmured and pulled Sephiroth down to press their lips together again. “Don’t think for a second that I’m going to let you go either.” He threw a leg up to hook it around Sephiroth’s waist. “We’re both stuck with each other now.”

“My sweet, brave puppet”, Sephiroth murmured. “To think I could have had this, all along…”

Gods, the implications hadn’t hit Cloud properly until now. Sephiroth was from the same future as him. Sephiroth _knew everything_ and that was such a relief, like a burden he hadn’t known he was carrying had been taken off his shoulders. There was no need to play pretend with Sephiroth, no need for Cloud to hide away the parts of him that knew too much. Cloud pressed his face into the crook of Sephiroth’s neck, breathing in his scent.

“You have me now”, he whispered. “I’m right here.”

“You’re a strange person, Cloud. This took an unexpected turn.” Sephiroth twined a lock of Cloud’s hair around his finger. “I think… I can let go of my hatred, if this is what I can get in return.” He sighed, pulled away from Cloud and stretched out on his back on the bed next to him, staring up at the ceiling. “There is no need for this me to exist anymore. Still, I’m glad I could speak to you one last time, Cloud.”

“Last? What do you mean, last?” Cloud sat up to peer down at Sephiroth’s face.

“You don’t want me to disappear?” Sephiroth’s lips curled into an almost smug grin.

“I don’t know, it’s just…” Cloud paused, wondering how to put it. “It feels kinda nice to know that someone else remembers, you know? Makes me feel better, knowing I didn’t make everything up.”

“Aren’t we a strange pair… Feeling out of place in the world we created.” Sephiroth sighed. “…Thank you, Cloud. You’ve… given me relief. I feel oddly reassured. I thought you would be angered by my presence.”

“I probably should be. Guess I’m just tired. It’s too early in the morning for this shit.”

“I’m tired as well”, Sephiroth murmured. “I have been for a long time, I think.”

“Let’s go back to sleep, then. I’m too tired to talk anymore. Unless you’ve got something real important to say…” Cloud grabbed the covers and pulled them around both of them before laying his head down on Sephiroth’s chest. Sephiroth flinched at first, but quickly relaxed and even wrapped an arm around Cloud.

“You’re a lot stronger than I thought, Cloud. You always are. So stubborn and persistent, even when the odds are stacked against you. It seems that my greatest flaw has been to constantly underestimate you.”

“I’m gonna take that as a compliment”, Cloud mumbled in reply. Sephiroth’s chest made a good pillow, and he was completely prepared to go back to sleep like this. His heart was still pounding, not seeming to have realised that the urgency of the situation was long gone, but he tried his best to focus on deep breaths. Sephiroth seemed to notice, and wordlessly began to breathe in sync with Cloud. The rise and fall of Sephiroth’s chest beneath him was… an incredibly soothing feeling.

For a while, they were both quiet. Cloud fully expected that no more words would be spoken, since he was already on the verge of falling asleep. But then, Sephiroth spoke up, in an almost hesitant voice.

“…Cloud?”

“Yeah?”

“Before you fall asleep… I still have something I want to say.”

“Go ahead.”

“You’re… the only one who completes me. The only person I’ve ever considered an equal. You’re what kept me from fading away. I hated you, but… hatred is not enough to describe how I feel. At some point, I must have crossed a line I never intended to cross, and that burning anger turned into something else entirely. I suppose, what I’m trying to say is… that with whatever heart I have left, I…”

“You don’t have to say it, you know. It’s already obvious.”

“I want to say it anyway. Let me say it, just once.”

“…Fine. Say it.”

“Cloud… I love you too.”

Cloud wasn’t sure at what point he fell asleep after that, but when he awoke again, he felt a lot more well-rested. His head was still on Sephiroth’s chest, and he shifted around to get a proper look at Sephiroth, only to find that Sephiroth was watching him already.

“Good morning”, Sephiroth said. That wild, haunted look in his eyes was gone now. Instead, Sephiroth was looking every bit like a lazy housecat, watching Cloud with such a content expression on his face that Cloud found himself wondering if it had all been a dream his subconscious had provided him with in some sort of weird attempt to give him closure.

“Morning. I, uh…” Okay, how the hell did he explain this one? _Hey, Sephiroth, your evil alter ego decided to pop in for a visit, and I may or may not have decided that I don’t really hate him anymore and… I may also have made out with him just a little bit…_

“It seems you had an interesting experience last night”, Sephiroth said, having the audacity to sound amused.

“You remember?!” Cloud blurted out. “Wait, which one are you now? Shit, I can’t tell.” Sephiroth let out a laugh at that; a soft, heartfelt one that soothed Cloud’s soul.

“I remember”, Sephiroth said. “As for which one I am, well… I think whatever was still out of sync between the two versions of me finally clicked together the way it was supposed to. The discussion we had earlier this morning is completely clear in my mind, even though the memory isn’t exactly my own.”

“So he’s gone? For good?” Cloud asked. He wasn’t sure how to feel, if that was the case, now that he’d finally been able to speak to that version of Sephiroth on friendly terms…

“Not exactly. We’re the same now. Completely and entirely.” Sephiroth’s hand came up to wipe a few stray strands of hair from Cloud’s face. “This is what we both wanted, more than anything. To be able to rest. To not have to be alone. I feel… at peace.”

“You have no idea how glad I am to hear that”, Cloud confessed. To see Sephiroth look this wholeheartedly happy after all the ordeals they had been through… it made it all worth it. He’d _saved_ this man – and everyone else, for that matter – from so much undeserved suffering.

“Are you at peace too, Cloud?” Sephiroth asked. He seemed so worried. Cloud couldn’t blame him. Now that he thought about it, Cloud wasn’t sure if he’d ever really, truly been at peace. He shook his head.

“No… but I think… I will be, eventually.” Maybe he couldn’t expect to be okay immediately, after everything he’d been through, but he could see a light at the end of the tunnel now. He would be okay. He knew that now. “As long as you’re here with me, at least.” He couldn’t resist flirting a bit, just for good measure. Sephiroth smiled, of course, like the sap he was, but the smile faded a bit too quickly to feel entirely natural. “What’s wrong?”

“You love me, even the side of me that has done horrible things, and I don’t understand”, Sephiroth admitted. “It was one thing when I wasn’t actually the exact same as him, but considering what you did, earlier… how do you look past what I have done to you?”

Cloud couldn’t claim to be surprised by that question. Sephiroth’s difficulty to grasp the concept of being loved was not news to him, and luckily, he knew what to say to that.

“I think you’ve got it the wrong way around”, he said and sat up, taking Sephiroth’s hands into his own. “I don’t love you regardless of you being Sephiroth. I love you _because_ you’re Sephiroth. I should never have tried to pretend like the bad parts of you don’t exist.”

“…Oh.” Sephiroth appeared to have been stunned into silence, so Cloud took the opportunity to go in for a hug. Sephiroth hugged him back, and before Cloud knew it, they were kissing. Sephiroth’s lips were soft yet heated, and the arm he wrapped around Cloud’s waist gripped him gently yet fervently. Cloud didn’t want him to ever let go.

They basked in each other’s attention for a good while after that, before they finally managed to drag themselves out of bed. They made their way out onto the porch and sat there watching the clear morning sky, a blanket draped over their legs to keep them warm, a mug of coffee in Cloud’s hand and a mug of tea in Sephiroth’s.

“It feels like I’m dreaming”, Sephiroth murmured. “I never thought for even one second that I could live a life like this. Sitting here, watching the sun rise with someone I adore, without anything to worry about, knowing that I have a place in this world… It’s just too much.”

“Yeah”, Cloud agreed. He leant his head against Sephiroth’s shoulder and took Sephiroth’s hand into his own. “Tifa happened to come by earlier, when I was out feeding the Chocobos. She said we should come to Midgar to see everyone.”

“…Do you want to?”

“Kinda. But… at the same time, I really just need a bit of distance from everything and everyone, for my own sanity.”

“Should I leave you here alone, then?” Sephiroth asked, sounding amused.

“No, not you. You’re the exception. You’re not allowed to leave. Who would I get to use as a pillow then?” Cloud bumped his head against Sephiroth’s shoulder to emphasise his point. “As long as you want to stay, of course.”

“Of course I want to stay. There is no place in the universe I’d rather be than by your side. The family I gained and the friends I regained… They too are precious to me, but your actions are what gifted me this existence. Cloud, I…” Sephiroth trailed off, and Cloud couldn’t resist butting in.

“Goddammit, you’re such a sappy bastard.”

“I’ve been called worse”, Sephiroth said, letting out a small laugh as he turned his fond gaze to Cloud. Gods, Cloud loved him so much that it made his heart ache.

“Sephiroth?” His voice wavered, but he took a deep breath and tried to steady himself.

“Yes?”

“Even if it’s a bit too late for it… I do forgive you, you know.” Cloud watched a myriad of emotions drift across Sephiroth’s face. Shock, disbelief, acceptance, and finally, relief.

“Thank you.” Sephiroth sounded taken aback, struggling to keep his emotions in control as he took Cloud’s hands and held on as if he was afraid Cloud would slip from his grasp. “Thank you, Cloud. For being here. For loving me. For being my salvation. I will do everything in my power to make it up to you, I…”

“You don’t need to do anything”, Cloud whispered and clutched his hands right back. Sephiroth’s smile reached all the way to his eyes, and Cloud smiled right back. “The two of us, in this perfect world we made together… This is already enough for me.”

And it was. It really, truly was. Sephiroth pulled Cloud into his arms and held him tight, and if Cloud hadn’t already been certain that the happiness that he’d been searching for was within reach, that would’ve been the moment it hit him. Finally, he could face tomorrow without a worry in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that! I hope everyone has enjoyed the ride! I feel really sad that I'm done with this, it's been such a delight to have something to post every few days, especially in these times :')
> 
> Hopefully I'll be able to write some more sefikura soon, though! I've got lots of ideas and the remake has fed me with even more! In the meantime, you can always find me over on twitter [@ethereal_savior](https://twitter.com/ethereal_savior), where I spend all my time talking way too much about Sephiroth! Feel free to hmu and have a chat! ;D


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